Baseball set to host Hoyas

After a four game sweep of Cornell, the Penn baseball team is on the verge of turning its season around. After struggling for much of the early part of this season, the Quakers suddenly find themselves atop the Ivy league's Gehrig Division. And just like that the team has reached the magical .500 mark on the year. Penn has a chance to post a winning record if it can knock off Georgetown today at 3:30 p.m. on Bower Field. "We feel good about things after last weekend," catcher Rick Burt said. "We're clicking at just the right time. We played really well against Cornell." This game against the Hoyas and the one tomorrow against West Chester give Penn a chance to try to build on that momentum. With two consecutive non-conference games at home, the Quakers should be in prime position for next weekend's four-game showdown with Princeton. Today also marks the beginning of a nine-game homestand that will go a long way in determining the success of Penn's 1995 season. The home-field advantage should be particularly advantageous against the Hoyas, who have compiled a measly 1-15 road record this season. With an overall mark of 12-23, the Hoyas have struggled at the plate this year. As a team Georgetown is hitting .239, and it has not been able to come up with hits in key situations. The Hoyas' main threat at the plate is infielder Roger Harrington. Having started in every one of the squad's 35 games, Harrington is hitting at an impressive .303 clip and has knocked in 16 runs. Harrington is capable of hitting for power, having ripped seven doubles, three triples and three home runs. Despite Harrington's accomplishments, the Georgetown offense has been quite disappointing on the whole. The pitching story is not much better. The team ERA has ballooned to 5.74, and only Kevin Doody has been able to post a winning record so far. Righthander Louis Kim has given the team some quality innings out of the bullpen, yielding only a single run in his eight innings of relief. All the trends going into the game seem to point to a relatively easy Penn victory. The Red and Blue handily defeated the Hoyas twice last season, and the Quakers are riding high off their most impressive four-game stretch of the season. Meanwhile, the Hoyas have dropped seven straight and 12 of their last 13. Georgetown's only road win on the year came against a very weak Delaware State team. On the field, Penn's .307 batting average is far superior to the Hoyas. The same can be said about the Quakers' respectable 4.34 ERA. The only way Georgetown can hope to upset the Red and Blue is if Penn decides to rest some of its regulars in this non-league game. As of last night, Penn's starting pitcher was still to be determined, although A B Fischer and Armen Simonian are strong possibilities.