Baseball looks to exact revenge against Yale

There is still a bitter taste in Dan Galles' mouth. It is the taste of defeat and it's left from last season's Ivy League championship series. Galles and the Quakers lost 5-1 to Yale in the decisive third game to end Penn's season in disappointing fashion. The Elis captured their third consecutive league crown. Tomorrow at Yale Field in New Haven, the Quakers (10-9, 3-1 Ivy League) meet their Rolfe Division rivals for the first time since last May. And even though Galles was the lone Penn hurler to be victorious in last year's championship series (he won 8-4 in game two, striking out 10), he is eager to show the Elis (11-11, 2-2) which is the better ball club. "I think we were the better team last year, but they won," Galles said. "We are even stronger this year and I still think we're better. We'll just have to win two games up there to show that." Joining Galles on the mound for the Quakers tomorrow is fellow senior Ed Haughey. Haughey also has painful memories. He was the losing pitcher in game one when his defense committed nine errors en route to a 7-1 defeat. Galles (2-2 with a 2.65 ERA this season) and Haughey (4-1, 2.81 ERA) are the Quakers' two premier starters, and Penn coach Bob Seddon is counting on them to do the job against Yale, the tougher of Penn's two weekend opponents. Penn also plays a noon doubleheader at Brown Sunday. "Yale's the team to beat," Seddon said. "We'd definitely like to get off to a good start. Galles and Haughey should help us do that. Yale is not as good as they were last year, but they'll still win a lot of games. They'll be tough to beat." Making the Elis especially tough will be their two starting pitchers. Taking the hill for the Elis are southpaw Jason Bohannon (4-1, 4.63) and righthander Eric Gutshall. For a freshman, Gutshall (1-1, 3.70) has been remarkably successful, giving up only 19 hits in over 24 innings. He has walked five and struck out 13. Leadoff hitter Dave Feuerstein provides the offensive spark for Yale. Feuerstein has stolen 93 bases in just over three years in New Haven and "can steal at will" according to Seddon. If the Quakers, for their part, want to steal two wins, they know they will have to keep Feuerstein off the basepaths. "The key will be for us to get ahead early and get them out of their running game," Galles said. "Once we have a lead, it will neutralize their speed a little bit, especially in a seven-inning game." The Elis were 16th in the nation last year in stolen bases. In addition to Feuerstein, right fielder Dan Thompson provides plenty of pop to the Elis' lineup. He is tied for the league lead with 24 RBIs along with Penn first baseman Mike Shannon. If the Quakers can survive their twin bill with Yale, the road down I-95 is expected to get much easier. Even though the Bears are supposed to be much-improved over last season, to call the Brown pitching staff "suspect" would be overly generous. "Brown can swing the bats," Seddon said. "But their pitching is absolutely horrendous." Stuart Perry, the Bears' staff ace with a 3.18 ERA will face Penn in game one, but the Quakers are unsure who they'll see in the nightcap. Even against Perry, Penn will have plenty of confidence -- the Quakers have beaten him each of the last two seasons. Further, Brown's staff as a whole has a ERA approaching 8. While that statistic might have Penn's hitters salivating, the Quakers will not get rid of that bitter taste in their mouths unless they sweep Yale.