Baseball hunts Owls

When the Temple Owls fly over to Penn's Bower Field today for a 3:30 p.m. contest, they may represent the best 7-26 ballclub the Quakers have ever faced. Although Temple has struggled all year in the Atlantic 10, one of the region's toughest conferences, they are a very athletic team that has given the Quakers problems in the past. "We've always had lots of trouble with these guys for some reason," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "In the last 10 years, we've only beaten them a few times." The most recent encounter came two years ago in Florida, where Penn split two games with the Owls. Last year's scheduled contest was rained out. In addition to having troubles with Temple, the Quakers (19-17) have struggled of late in all mid-week contests. Before last Wednesday's victory over Division II West Chester, Penn had lost four straight contests to non-league opponents. "We look at mid-week games as a tuneup," first baseman Allen Fischer said. "Some guys are still sore from the weekend. Playing 36 innings in two days really takes a toll on your body." For good reason, Penn's focus rests solely on the Ivy League. The Quakers hold a two-game lead in the Gehrig Division going into this weekend's four games against second-place Columbia. During the mid-week contests, Seddon often rests a great majority of the starting lineup and uses an inexperienced battery. That tradition will continue today. Sophomore Alex Hayden takes the hill for Penn and one of the freshman catchers will play behind the plate. That means either David Corletto or Mark Nagata will get the starting nod. "This game has no bearing on us, really," Seddon said. "We're just going to try and get everyone rested for this weekend's games ,which are the most important of the season. We're a tired group right now. Alex has thrown really well of late and we're looking for that to continue. He did a great job in relief for us Saturday against Princeton." In that brief stint in the second game of the weekend, Hayden got out of a bases-loaded jam with nobody out. He got the first batter on a come-backer, struck out the next, and retired the final batter to get the Quakers out of the inning. One particularly tired Quaker is Mike Shannon. In between pitching a gem every weekend against Ivy opponents and playing first base, Shannon has lit up opposing pitchers and is currently on pace to break several single-season Penn records. Shannon is two hits shy of Glenn Partridge's mark of 59, set in 1976. The slugger is also just four RBIs away from Tom Olszak's 1979 tally of 48. "I try not to think about it," Shannon said of his record chases. "I'll be DH-ing [today] and just trying to stay focused. I try to work on the little things to stay sharp, like going the other way and executing in certain situations."