Delaware tops Penn at Liberty Bell Tournament

The sun was shining for the first time in days when the Penn baseball team took the field against Delaware yesterday afternoon for an opening-round game of the Liberty Bell Tournament. That was one of the only things that went right for the Quakers as they fell, 14-3, at Veterans Stadium. In Todd Mahoney's first collegiate start, the Penn freshman lefty (0-2) gave up seven runs on only six hits. As Mahoney tired, he began throwing his fastball high in the strike zone. And the usually solid Penn defense betrayed him as well. Quakers first baseman Mike Shannon was the culprit in the first inning, unleashing a wild throw while trying to nail Delaware centerfielder Matt Ardizzone at third base. Penn third baseman Derek Nemeth was unable to handle the throw, and as the Quakers chased the errant ball, Ardizzone crossed the plate. But that was not the end of the Blue Hens' damage, as Penn sophomore Drew Corradini lost the ball in the centerfield sun. Delaware shortstop Dan Hammer notched a ground-rule double as the ball bounced over the fence, and second baseman Dan Colunio trotted home. The Blue Hens (19-5) scored at least one run in each inning, except the ninth. Penn's frustration showed early, as Mahoney argued with his batterymate, sophomore catcher Dave Corleto, over the signs. "I thought there was a situation where they were stealing the signs," Mahoney said. "I wanted him to vary the counts. Instead of putting down one finger, I wanted him to set up an indicator. He didn't understand what I meant. He thought I was upset about the pitch calling, but I wasn't. I was upset that they got the pitches." It certainly appeared as if Delaware had inside knowledge in the fourth inning. Hammer connected for a home run on the first pitch. Three batters later, first baseman Tim Mahony connected for another. Penn sophomore David Hoffman replaced Mahoney on the mound after the inning. The righthander (0-1) would fare no better against the hard-hitting Blue Hens lineup. Hoffman got hammered, surrendering seven runs in only an one-and-a-half innings of work. The Quakers (14-11) did not get a hit against Delaware starter Craig Berger until the third inning. Shannon attempted to atone for his earlier error in the sixth, scoring Penn's first run on a homer to left field. It was the senior's first ever homer in his four years of playing in the Liberty Bell Tournament and was his third blast of the season. "It's nice to take one out in my senior year," Shannon said. "I just wanted to get one at Veterans Stadium before I left." But it was too little, too late for the Quakers. They chipped away at the new Delaware pitcher, righty Scott Gellert, adding two more runs. The first three batters in the seventh inning -- Nemeth, left fielder Jeremy Milken and catcher Mark Nagata -- each singled. Nemeth came home on a wild pitch with right fielder Kevin O'Malley at the plate. Milken scored on O'Malley's ground-out to third base. And that was all the offensive production Penn could muster. "The box score says it all," Shannon said. "They came in more intense than we were, and they kicked our butts. That's happened some times in the past, but with this team I didn't expect it. They put three or four runs on the board and we got behind and never were able to catch up." Ivy League games always bring out competitive spirit, and the Quakers are sure they will be motivated this weekend when they travel to face Harvard and Dartmouth. Shannon and righthander Armen Simonian (3-1, 2.48) will lead the pitching staff as usual, with Shannon hurling in the first contest against Dartmouth Saturday and Simonian taking the mound versus Harvard Sunday. Righthander A.B. Fischer (3-2, 3.30) will pitch in one of the remaining two games. The final starting spot is still up for grabs. According to Wagner, freshman Sean McDonald (2-0, 4.74) had been primed to make the jump into the Ivy rotation. However, after an outstanding performance against St. Joseph's on March 28, when he pitched three innings of no-hit ball, the righty has been sick. Should McDonald be physically unable to perform, lefthander Mike Greenwood (1-1, 4.84) will take the mound in his place. Regardless of who is on the mound versus Harvard and Dartmouth, Penn must improve its overall intensity level. However, the Quakers think the loss may help them to avoid another poor performance. After all, the Ivy League title is on the line. "This is a good wake-up call for the weekend," Mahoney said. "Maybe this will be the spark that we needed." This is not the first time the Quakers have faltered in a midweek contest. Historically, Penn performs poorly when they are not facing Ivy League competition. These games offer a chance for young players to make it into the weekend starting lineup, and sometimes the team does not perform as well as usual. Veterans Stadium has not been friendly territory for the Quakers either. No current Penn player has won a game in the Liberty Bell Tournament. Though they knew of the team's record there, the Quakers had no explanations for their their poor play. "We really didn't come with the intensity and the drive that we needed to have in a midweek game," Penn assistant coach Bill Wagner said. "We didn't really aggressively go after the ball defensively, and we didn't aggressively try and get back into this game with our bats. We were just satisfied to show up and play at Vet Stadium and go back and eat dinner." And with an attitude like that, Penn won't win many games, no matter how sunny a day it is.

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