Quakers take two from Phila. Textile

Shannon's ninth-inningShannon's ninth-inningRBI hit ends Penn'sShannon's ninth-inningRBI hit ends Penn'srecent midweek struggles What is probably the most legendary moment in baseball history occurred in the 1938 World Series when Babe Ruth pointed to the stands and then hit a home run to that very spot. No, yesterday's baseball game wasn't the World Series, actually it was probably the farthest thing from it. But with the score tied, in the bottom of the seventh inning of the opener of a doubleheader with Philadelphia Textile, Penn first base coach John Nace pointed to left field. He didn't point for long, but it was long enough for the Quakers' well-known Fathers' Row (the line of Penn players' fathers down the first-base line) to realize what he was doing. He was calling Mike Shannon's shot. After all, the inning before, Nace said that Quakers designated hitter Mark Nagata could easily hit Rams' pitcher Craig Gribbin, and, sure enough, on the next pitch, Nagata nailed a double into the left-center gap. Two pitches later, with Nace predicting the homer, Shannon dribbled a grounder off the end of his bat to Rams' pitcher Chris Nowaczyk, sending the game into extra innings. Although Nace's prognostications failed to prove trustworthy, he did get one thing right -- Shannon would win the game. In the bottom of the ninth, with two men on and two out, Shannon proved heroic as he drilled the ball into right-centerfield for the game-winning RBI. What was even more important about this win, however, was that the Red and Blue finally broke through their midweek blues, as they swept visiting Textile, winning the first game 8-7 in nine innings and taking the nightcap 11-1. In the opener, after being up 5-2 in the third, the Quakers allowed the Rams to build their total to seven, while the Red and Blue offense remained stagnant. In the bottom of the sixth, however, Penn tied up the contest on Nagata's two-run double. After Shannon's drive to win the game, Penn rode the momentum into the second half of the bitter afternoon. "With the midweek games, they're tough to get motivated for, because it's not the Ivy League," Penn third baseman Derek Nemeth said. "But I think we came out today and got on the board quickly, and that helps. We had 16 hits. I think we're chasing the ghost now." In the second game, Quakers starter Travis Arbogast looked sharper than he has all season, allowing one run and scattering six hits in the Penn win.