Penn has Calfifornia nightmare

The Penn baseball squad went 3-6 over spring break, but were outscored 91-39 during the week. Penn baseball coach Bob Seddon knew exactly what he was getting his team into when he agreed to play in the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Invitational in Fresno, Calif. While the tournament would afford his team the chance to play against some of the top teams in the country, he also realized the Quakers could be easily overwhelmed by the competition. "We played at the highest level," Seddon said. "The four front-runners at the tournament are better than any team we'll play the rest of the year." Penn finished its spring trip with a 3-6 record, the same record as last year's team, which went on to win 25 games. After a promising start with a 14-5 win in its first of three non-tournament games against Cal-State San Bernardino (13-6-1), things quickly went downhill for the Quakers. Penn was blown out in its next game, 15-2, signalling a trend that would continue throughout the trip. The Quakers lost four games in the tournament by a combined score of 59-4. Seddon, however, believes the scores say more about the opponents than his team. "You can take the stats and twist them any way you want," Seddon said. "We could have just played the same competition as other league teams, but we played two top 20 teams." The Quakers' stats took a beating over the weekend, a beating from which they may never recover. The team batting average is an exceedingly low .228, and the Penn hitters struck out once every four at bats. The Quakers' hurlers have a less than sparkling earned run average of 9.67 thanks to the offensive prowess of their opponents. Even the Red and Blue defense, who had 11 errors in the first 7 games, fell apart in the final two games by accumulating 10 errors. "You need to do well in two of the three main areas (hitting, pitching and fielding) to win games," Seddon said. "In many cases we didn't have any of those three." There were brief flashes of the Quakers' potential when all aspects of the game are working effectively. Penn defeated Portland (5-4-1) 5-4 behind eight strong innings from top hurler Armen Simonian. Catcher Dave Corletto backed his battery mate's performance with two solo home runs and the Quakers did not commit an error as they defeated the eventual third-place team in the tournament. "I had been working hard to get ready in the offseason," Simonian said. "I didn't expect to go that far, but I seemed to be in command of the game and I moved it along quickly." Penn followed that game with another win, this time 9-2 over Rhode Island (0-5), behind a complete game, nine-strikeout performance from A.B. Fischer. The Quakers win streak was short-lived as they ran into a string of three blowout losses against Gonzaga (6-5-1), Fresno State (16-12) and Indiana State (4-8-1). "Indiana State, Gonzaga -- they are all teams we had a chance against," Simonian said. "The games would have been closer had we had a week or two under our belts, but we made early-season mistakes. They were good teams, but not dominating." Despite the disappointing record, the Quakers did discover a lot about their young team. The top three pitchers will definitely be the projected threesome of Simonian, Fischer and Mike Greenwood. According to Seddon, the Penn staff also gained a better command of the strike zone as the tournament wore on, despite the stats that would indicate otherwise. It is clear, though, that Penn's pitching will not be as dominating as it has been in the past. "We need to swing the bats better," Seddon said, "It's apparent the pitchers can't hold down the opponents." Penn has to hit for a higher average and cut down on its strikeouts. The Quakers already have eight home runs, a high total for a team not normally known for its power, but Bower Field is not exactly a power hitter's dream. On a positive note, newcomers such as Glen Ambrosius and Russ Farscht, who saw limited action a year ago, showed signs of providing the offensive contributions Penn needs from its young players. Seddon believes it is hard to tell if Penn will benefit from its trip as it moves into the heart of its season. It is clear that the Quakers are not a worse team for having made the trip. "With the players we have, the trip will definitely have a positive effect," Simonian said. "With other teams the players might be down in the dumps after getting beaten badly, but we are all being realistic about the games. Regardless of the performance, it was a positive experience, especially for all of the young guys who are excited because they have now played in some games."