Columbia simply not a factor in Gehrig division

Last year, the Penn-Columbia home-and-away series to close out the season decided the Gehrig Division championship. The Lions needed to sweep to go on to the Ivy League championship series, while the Quakers only needed to win two games to claim victory. Needless to say, the Quakers swept the first doubleheader in Manhattan to clinch, only to have the second half rained out in Philadelphia. Common sense might tell you that recent-rival Columbia would be the Quakers' biggest nemesis in Gehrig competition in 1996, but Penn's 4-1 and 4-2 victories Saturday, and 3-2 and 4-3 wins Sunday once again proved that Columbia isn't up to the competition. If the weekend sweep provided anything other than a quick start for the Quakers, it proved that Princeton will probably be the toughest division opponent. "Coming into the league, we didn't expect [Columbia to be Penn's biggest Gehrig Division opponent]," senior Sean Turner said. "They lost to everybody. It's the same thing every year -- we go to their place for two, and they talk a lot of trash. We end up winning the first two, and then they come here. They're silent, they give up, and we swept them." Although the four games were all reasonably close, the Quakers blamed their own batting prowess -- or lack thereof -- for keeping the contests close. "I hope we start hitting the ball," said senior Mike Shannon, who hit a game winning two-run homer in the second game. "Hitting is contagious -- once a couple people start hitting, the whole team is going to hit." If the Quakers aren't happy with their hitting, then everyone should expect big things out of the Red and Blue. In taking four games this weekend and nine out of the past 11, Penn's pitching has been nothing short of dominant. The Quakers will be a force to be reckoned with, however, when the bats do begin to heat up. Compared with the team that went 2-5 in the season-opening trip to Florida, this looks like a new Penn squad. "We're slow starters," coach Bob Seddon said. "But that's what the purpose of the trip is -- to get ready for the season." Does that mean the Quakers are still trying to get started? If so, Penn should have no problem winning the Ivy League -- especially if they can improve their already amazing post-Florida record. With Yale on deck this weekend, Penn will hope their sticks fire up and their pitching remains dominant for the defending Rolfe Division champs. It will be Princeton, however, that promises to put up the biggest fight for the Gehrig. "Princeton has a senior team," Seddon said. "They swing the bat pretty well. If they get off to a good start, they'll be a team." The Tigers, however, lost two non-league games this weekend, 9-3 and 3-2, in a home-and-away series with Rutgers. In any case, Columbia only proved to themselves that trash-talking doesn't win championships, and for that matter, beginning the Ivy season with an 0-4 record will put them out of Penn's mind for a while. Ironically, the Red and Blue will have to rely on the Lions' services this year to help in defeating other teams. "I think winning four puts this team in bad shape," Seddon said. "But they have better pitching than they've had in the past, so we really need them to beat somebody."