Penn hosts Siena, Coppin St.

Baseball will play two with SaintsBaseball will play two with Saintstomorrow and with Eagles Sunday The Penn baseball team was worried as it took batting practice yesterday. The Quakers (4-6) thought they would be facing a couple of tough pitchers when Siena visits Bower Field for a noon doubleheader Saturday. "They're coming a long way," Penn manager Bob Seddon said of the Saints, who hail from just outside Albany, N.Y. "They're not coming down here for nothing. They're coming down here because they think they can beat us." Penn can relax a little bit. While the Saints (3-7) boast a pitcher who led the nation in strikeouts per inning pitched last season, the Quakers will not have to face him. Lefty Tim Christman sat down 60 in 41-2/3 innings last year. However, he is out indefinitely after off-season surgery on his pitching shoulder. But while the Quakers have dodged one major league pitching prospect, they will not likely escape another in freshman phenom Dave Fields. In spite of his slight 6-foot, 155-pound frame, Fields (2-0) has compiled a 1.29 ERA in his first two collegiate starts while holding opposing hitters to a .212 average. Saturday should prove to be a pitcher's duel, as staff ace Mike Shannon (0-1, 6.39 ERA) takes the mound opposite Fields. Righthander Armen Simonian (1-0, 0.61) will start the second game against Siena. Equally strong standing at the plate as throwing the ball over it, both Shannon and Simonian will probably bat for themselves. Shannon is certainly up to the task. After leading the team with 70 hits last season, the co-captain is second on the team in batting with a .425 average. Catcher Rick Burt leads the Quakers at .444, but he believes it is only a matter of time before Shannon regains his position atop the Penn offensive standings. "He's by far the best pitcher and the best hitter," Burt said of Shannon. "If we didn't have him we would be in a lot of trouble. Every time we need a big hit, he's the guy who gets it." If the hurlers perform up to expectations, defense will be the key to Saturday's contests. The Quakers have the edge in glovework. In fact, it has been the team's strongest aspect thus far in the young season. "Our team is starting to gel a little bit," Shannon said. "We started off with really good defense, and I think our bats are starting to come around." Penn hitters have been performing well early on. Of the top four batters -- outfielder Sean Turner, Burt, Shannon and shortstop Mark DeRosa -- in the Quakers' lineup, only cleanup hitter DeRosa is under .300, and he has been improving steadily. DeRosa doubled in Burt to score the Quakers' first run against St. Joe's Wednesday. "As soon as DeRosa gets hot, the top four hitters in our lineup are going to be devastating," Turner said. "If the four of us ever click at the same time, it'll be a sight to see. Three of us are clicking, and DeRosa will come on anytime. As soon as he gets one good hit, the hits will start coming and coming and coming." The Quakers should have a chance to display their offensive power when they face Coppin State (2-5-1) for a pair at noon Sunday. The Eagles managed to knock off Maryland, 5-4, last week. However, aside from that victory and a 10-5 drubbing of a poor Hartford team, Coppin State has had little to cheer for this season. A team known more for hitting than hurling, the Eagles boast six players who are over .500 in slugging percentage. Outfielder Travis Thornton, last year's Mid-Eastern Conference Player of the Year, bats .421 to lead the Coppin State attack. It will be the responsibility of righthanded pitchers A.B. Fischer and Alex Hayden to control the powerful bats of Coppin State. The Quakers plan to call upon Mark Nagata, Dave Corleto and Kevin O'Malley as designated hitters versus Coppin State. The Quakers are traditionally a slow-starting team. However, with the majority of their home dates coming early in the year, time is of the essence. Penn must overcome the mental errors on the basepaths that cost the team victories in Florida and win now. "Physically we're very solid, big and strong," Seddon said. "We underachieved on our trip. We have to come together soon."

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