Six hurlers allow only two hits

Trying to keep its pitchers ready for the weekend, Penn hurlers threw only one or two innings. Baseball returned to West Philadelphia yesterday with one small hitch: the Penn baseball team wasn't planning on it. Quakers coach Bob Seddon had dismissed his charges Tuesday, telling them to plan on showing up for indoor practice, expecting inclement weather. Even though it didn't rain from the heavens, the Quakers (4-6) rained strikes on visiting St. Joseph's (4-8-1), as six pitchers combined for eight strikeouts and only two hits in the Red and Blue's 2-1 victory at frigid Bower Field. The Quakers, who have traditionally downplayed midweek games, had a specific pitching rotation heading into the contest. With four games looming this weekend and only having found three solid starters, Seddon and pitching coach Bill Wagner had no Quaker throw more than two innings. Penn hurlers only allowed six men to reach base, showing the structured rotation did not hurt the team. "That keeps [the pitchers] alive for the weekend," Seddon said. The pitchers were not only alive, but deadly, too. It took the Hawks seven innings to get on base by using a bat. On the hill in the seventh for the Quakers was Alex Hayden, who was the only pitcher to look hittable in his one inning on duty. "I don't see the pitching being any different," Penn pitcher A.B. Fischer said. "We lost [Mike Shannon] at the end of the year, and we still have the same staff we did last year. Now the guys that were younger last year are veterans now, so I see pitching as the key to the season." Hayden's first pitch was a fastball that St. Joe's shortstop Bill Black spanked for a single past a diving Glen Ambrosius, the Quakers third baseman. The next Hawks batter smacked a routine grounder toward a charging Penn first baseman Russ Farscht who, in a rushed effort, threw the ball past Hayden covering first, allowing Black to advance to second and leaving the runner safe at first. After a botched bunt by Hawks catcher Kevin McCaffrey forced Black out at third for the first out of the inning, St. Joe's first baseman Chris Heck grounded into a double play to get Hayden out of the jam. Every batter Hayden faced, however, was able to make decent contact. While Penn's defense was working its magic, its offense was struggling. The Quakers tallied nine hits in the game, but scattered them over seven innings. In two of those frames, however, Penn was able to piece together a run. That was all they would need. In the bottom half of the frame, Penn jumped on St. Joe's pitcher Steve Sala in his final inning of work. But the Red and Blue could have capitalized further on the tired Sala. Penn catcher Dave Corleto led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple to deep left-centerfield. Trent Nagata, pinch hitting for Quakers freshman Jeremy McDowell, knocked a single past second base to score Corleto. Penn second baseman Shawn Spezio laid down a beautiful bunt which he beat out for a single while advancing pinch runner Todd Hall. Quakers rightfielder Drew Corradini tried to lay down another bunt to advance the runners, but popped it up, which Sala caught for the out and fired to second, where Hall was a sitting duck, having been halfway to third. Ambrosius watched strike three go by to end the inning. St. Joe's tied the game right away on a doubly muffed play by the Penn infield. Todd Mahoney, on the mound in the eighth for the Quakers, got a fly out to center before giving up a walk to Nick Carlini. Mahoney fanned the next batter, but his pitch to Hawks' pinch hitter Mark Payes got past Corleto, giving Carlini a free trip to second. After that mental blunder, a ball hit off the end of Payes' bat was deflected off of Mahoney, who tried to bare-hand it, and then past Spezio, after he miscued it with his bare hand. When all was said and done, Carlini had scored and Payes was on first. Mahoney was able to get the next batter to fly out to end the inning. The Quakers' spirits, which were higher yesterday than all last season, got the game winner in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, designated hitter Mark Nagata reached first on a walk, and Penn freshman Jeff Gregorio came in to pinch run. On a Joe Carlon single, Gregorio advanced to second. Then, the two baserunners moved up on a throwing error by Hawk's relief pitcher Mike Gondos, who's pickoff attempt got away from the first baseman Heck. Penn centerfielder Jeremy Milken had the honors of driving in the winning run, as he lofted a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Gregorio. The Quakers, who claimed to be a speedier team than last season, did not steal any bases and ran only two hit-and-run plays, despite being held to minimal offensive production. "We haven't been hitting a heck of a lot," Seddon said. "We didn't have many people on base." The sixth pitcher of the day for the Red and Blue, Travis Arbogast closed the game, earning a save. Of the six pitchers, however, Arbogast is the only one whose name has not been mentioned in the starting rotation shuffle. "We're looking for that fourth guy to step up," Fischer said. With doubleheaders against Navy and West Chester this weekend, the fourth starter will be somewhat of an experiment. According to Wagner, Fischer, Armen Simonian, Mike Greenwood and Ray Broome will get starts. Along with Fischer and Greenwood, Broome hurled two innings yesterday -- walking two and "K"-ing one. "Our pitching staff will come around," Wagner said. "It's just a matter of getting more opportunities to get on the mound." Penn junior Ed Kimlin speculated before the game that if the Quakers tried to sleep through yesterday's game, they would be easily defeated. Despite Penn's apparent nonchalant attitude toward midweek games -- Simonian skipped the game to take an exam -- the Quakers did not sleep. They simply took a one-play nap which allowed St. Joe's only run. "It doesn't matter, as long as you get a 'W'," Seddon said. Not bad, especially for a team expecting to practice.