Baseball powers up the offense

The Quakers won three of four this weekend, but may have lost captain Joe Carlon, who injured his hand. This past weekend was nothing short of an offensive resurgence for the Penn baseball team. Entering the four games this weekend versus Navy and West Chester, Penn had scored a total of 41 runs in 10 games while the team's batting average hovered around .230. These early signs were not encouraging for a team which had lost its top five hitters from last year. Yet the Quakers responded this weekend with 34 runs in four games, leading to a 3-1 weekend which upped Penn's record to 7-7. "We think that we have a lineup that is awesome," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "On any given day, we can score a lot of runs." Penn turned to a new set of offensive leaders over the weekend, notably Glen Ambrosius, Russ Farscht, Lance Milken and Mark Nagata. Ambrosius and Farscht both enjoyed 6-for-15 weekends from the plate and Milken chipped in with seven RBI. But it was designated hitter Nagata who emerged as the Quakers' biggest offensive threat with a 7-for-10 weekend, including two home runs, six RBI and six runs. "Mark Nagata should be athlete of the week," Seddon said. "He hit two bombs against West Chester for home runs." It took a while for the Quakers' bats to get warmed up against Navy, as starter Tom McLemore held them in check for the first four innings. Penn overcame a 2-0 deficit with three runs in the fifth, followed by six runs in the sixth to break open the game. Penn starter Mike Greenwood, coming off of two rough outings on the California road trip, did not walk a single Midshipman as he pitched a complete-game 10-hitter. Penn's offensive machine was up and running when the second game began, spotting starter Armen Simonian a 5-0 lead before he even took the mound. The Quakers ace cruised for the rest of the game, allowing only eight baserunners in his first complete game of the season, as Penn won, 7-2. "It was comforting to have the cushion," Simonian said. "But I don't really pitch differently when I'm ahead or when I'm behind." While Navy's record fell to 4-17, the two wins were not a given for Penn. The Midshipmen have faced tough competition this season, similar to the Quakers' California trip. Navy is actually expected to be among the top teams in a weak Patriot League this year. "I tried to impress upon the players that Navy is a good team," Seddon said. "Yet they didn't play like a team that is going to run away with the Patriot this year." While Penn played above the level of a strong Navy team, the Quakers played down to the level of a West Chester team who, according to Seddon, is a weaker team on paper. The first game saw the Quakers jump out to yet another 5-0 first-inning lead. This time, Penn starter A.B. Fischer was not able to hold down the opposition. West Chester scored five runs with the help of two errors and four walks to knock out Fischer after one inning. "A.B. did not have a good day, and the errors hurt him," Seddon said. "(Alex) Hayden was a bright spot in relief." Hayden went five innings to pick up a win, as Penn broke open the game with two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. Milken had four RBI and Simonian added three RBI and a home run to help Penn to its third straight win, 10-8. Penn continued its string of first-inning success in the second game at West Chester. Home runs from Ambrosius and Nagata put the Quakers up by three runs, but Penn starter Ray Broome gave up four runs in his first inning of work on two hits, three walks, and a hit batter. Broome was knocked out of the game in the third inning and his wildness hurt his case to be Penn's fourth starter. "We have to learn that if we have a big inning, we have to shut the other guys down," Seddon said. "We didn't do that so when we scored three runs, they came back and scored four." Penn was able to take a 8-7 lead heading in to the bottom of the sixth inning when Ed Kimlin came on in relief. A one-out walk followed by a homer gave West Chester the win, but not before Penn shortstop Shawn Spezio saw his drive get caught just short of the fence while leading off the seventh. West Chester's win upped its record to 3-9 and came despite two home runs and five RBI from Mark Nagata. "Of course I would have preferred it if we had won," Nagata said, "But I can't control that. The loss definitely overshadows what I did." Penn might have lost more than the game as captain Joe Carlon was removed four innings after getting hit on his hand by the ball. While X-rays are pending, it is likely Carlon did not break his hand and will return soon. Yet the weekend can only be seen as a positive, as the Penn offense has finally showed signs of life just in time for the upcoming league schedule. An area of concern now appears to be Penn's strength.