Baseball sweeps then gets swept

The Quakers easily took two games from Brown on Saturday but then gave two right back at Yale. For doubters of the age-old adage that pitching is 90 percent of the game, Penn's performance on this weekend's trip north should have done much to change your impression. On Saturday, at Brown's Aldrich Field, Penn bats jumped all over the Bears' pitching for 19 runs in two games en route to a 8-0, 13-2 doubleheader sweep of the Bears (5-18, 2-4 Ivy League). But yesterday, Yale coach John Stuper sent his ace, Sudha Reddy, and off-speed pitcher Eric Gutshall to the mound. The same Penn batters that racked up 21 runs against the Bears on Saturday struck out 15 times in yesterday's twin-bill, suffering two tough losses to the Elis (14-13, 7-0) by scores of 6-2 and 5-0. "There's a world of difference," Penn junior pitcher Ed Kimlin said. "Brown was really struggling. Yale pitched well. They weren't overpowering, but they pitched really well." On Saturday in Providence, Penn coach Bob Seddon sent seniors Alex Hayden and A.B. Fischer to the hill. Hayden pitched a masterpiece in the opener, staying out of trouble by getting ahead in the count. The crafty 5'10" right-hander held the Bears scoreless on just six hits, striking out five and walking none. Hayden was especially effective against the middle of the order, holding the Bears' third and fourth hitters --Peter deYoung and Andy Donnelly -- to a combined 0-for-6. At the plate, the Quakers bats struck early and often. Penn got on the board with a quick two in the top of the first. The Quakers added to their lead by striking for two more against Ballard in the fourth. The Red and Blue added four more in the final two innings off a tired Ballard who was forced to go the distance because the Bears are carrying just five active pitchers. "Hayden has now shown that he can be a winner in that top four," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "He pitched a beauty. That's two in a row for him." In the second game of the twin-bill, Fischer took the mound. The senior, like Hayden in the opener, mowed down the heart of the Bears order consistently, holding DeYoung and Donnelly to 0-for-3 each at the plate. After allowing the Bears two runs in the second inning -- including a solo blast off the bat of shortstop Chris Mercer -- Fischer settled down to bagel the Bears for the final five en route to a 13-2 complete game victory. Offensively, the Penn bats supplied Fischer with a large cushion, scoring their Ivy League season-high 13 runs. The five and six slots in the Quakers order were especially effective. Catcher Dave Corletto added two hits, including his third home run of the year, which broke a two-all tie and put the Quakers ahead for good. Penn's Russ Farscht went 4-for-5, driving in three runs while playing his natural position of first base. In yesterday's opener, the tables were turned against the Quakers, as the Yale offense had Penn starter Armen Simonian up against the ropes for most of the game. The middle of the order was Yale's rallying point with cleanup hitter Keith Caggiano going 3-for-3 and Ben Johnstone, Rick West and Jimmy Bryan adding two hits each. The Quakers' ace managed to work his way out of jams in the early innings to allow Penn to stay knotted at two through four innings of play. But in the bottom of the fifth, the Elis' bats came alive and shelled Simonian for three big runs. On the mound for Yale, Reddy showed no effects of pitching four innings in the previous day's rainout. The freshman backed up his honor of last week's Ivy League Pitcher of the Week by yielding just seven hits and walking nobody in his complete game victory. Even despite throwing four innings on Saturday, Reddy appeared to strengthen rather than tire in the late innings. "I don't think that he's that good. Gutshall's tougher," Seddon said. "But he's got good location and throws strikes. In the second game, Gutshall took the mound and his fantastic slider bewildered Penn batters all night. The Quakers struck out 11 as Gutshall scattered just three hits. Even though the Yale starter walked seven, his stuff was so strong that he escaped the game without yielding a run. On the other end, Penn starter Mike Greenwood could not get out of the first inning. Seddon was eventually forced to pull his senior left-hander after he allowed five runs to cross the plate in two -hirds of an inning. While Greenwood -- once the potential ace of Penn's rotation --struggled to get anyone out, junior middle reliever Ed Kimlin found a way to keep the Ivy's top hitting team off the base paths. Kimlin allowed no runs on just two hits in the final five-and-one-third innings of play. This outing will earn the junior from Alexandria, Va., more time on the mound as the Quakers make their stretch run at a playoff spot. "He definitely will step up," Seddon said. "Greenwood is struggling and that puts that fifth spot up for grabs." As the final weeks of the season approach, the Quakers post-season fate will rest largely on their pitching. If Penn hopes to contend with the class of the Ivy League, the Quaker starters will need to match pitchers like Reddy and Gutshall for a full seven innings.

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