Penn will have test in Yale

Quakers will try toQuakers will try tostop Ivy's best lineup Two Ivy League baseball titans will collide at high noon today on Bower Field when Penn hosts Yale in a doubleheader. The Quakers and Elis have split the last two Ancient Eight titles -- Yale won the crown in 1994, and Penn took the title last year. In fact, the two schools faced off against one another in the Ivy League playoff series in both of the last two seasons. And with the Quakers (12-8, 4-0 Ivy League) atop the Gehrig division and the Elis favored to repeat as Rolfe division champs, today's twin bill is a potential preview of another playoff. "We're focusing on every team we play," said Penn coach Bob Seddon, "but obviously [Yale] is going to be a team that in the end is picked to win its division." The Quakers will host another doubleheader on Saturday, when they take on another Rolfe Division team, Brown. But at this point, with neither the Elis (10-8) or the Bears (4-5) into their Ivy schedules, Yale looks to provide a tougher test for Penn. "Brown is a team that on paper looks pretty good," Quakers assistant coach Bill Wagner said. "But we've had a lot of success against them, and we hope to continue that. "Brown is in Yale's division, and Yale is the best team in that division." The Elis return almost everybody from last year's squad that knocked off Penn twice in the regular season before losing the best-of-three playoff in two straight games. "Basically it's two veteran teams going against each other," Wagner said. That is where the similarities ends. Today's games will match each team's strength against the other's weakness. Yale has had no problem at the plate so far this year, posting a team batting average of .299 and scoring an average of 6.7 runs per game. "They have a good team," Seddon said. "Their first five hitters swing the bat." The Elis' heaviest hitter is senior Dan Thompson, who plays the outfield when he isn't pitching. Thompson is batting a scorching .431 with a league-leading 25 runs batted in. Right behind him is first baseman Bryan Hobbs, who is hitting .377 and is tied for third in the Ivies with 17 RBIs. Yale's pitching, on the other hand, has left quite a bit to be desired. The Elis may be putting up terrific offensive numbers, but their opponents are doing even better. The Elis' foes are hitting Yale's pitchers at a .306 clip and are averaging seven runs a game. In terms of earned run average, Thompson (1-2, 5.06), whom the Quakers will face today, is the squad's best regular pitcher. Penn appears to be exactly the opposite, which should make for an intriguing matchup. The Quakers score an average of one run per game less than the Elis, but their pitching has been outstanding. Penn will send Mike Shannon, Mike Greenwood, Armen Simonian and A.B. Fischer to the mound today and tomorrow -- all of them pitched complete game victories last weekend. The Quakers had won six straight games until dropping a 12-3 decision to West Chester on Tuesday. It was a puzzling loss for Seddon, but he pointed out that he started three reserve players in the lineup and also used some of the team's less-experienced pitchers. "I don't think that game will affect the team at all," Seddon said. "They'll be focused. "Midweek games will never affect weekend games. It's just a whole different atmosphere."