Working overtime

LaSalle spoiled Bob Seddon's bid for win No. 500 in a 5 1/2 hour, 16 inning marathon. All year long, the University Social Planning and Events Committee promised us the "mother of all flings." Well, that's debatable. But to call last night's baseball game the "mother of all games" is hardly an exaggeration. The Penn baseball team entered last night's action hoping to break a five-game losing streak in the annual Liberty Bell Baseball Classic at Veterans Stadium. The Quakers also wanted to give coach Bob Seddon his 500th victory as Penn skipper, after coming up with a tie in his first attempt at the milestone. They faced local rival La Salle, an improved squad, but one which Penn defeated 18-1 last year. When senior Mike Greenwood threw the opening pitch at approximately 7 p.m., nobody had any idea that five-and-a-half hours, 16 innings, and 14 pitchers later, Penn and La Salle would still be deadlocked in a 7-7 thriller. This would seem even more surprising to anyone who watched Penn's uninspired, lethargic style of play through the first two-and-a-half innings. A combination of fielding errors, mental mistakes, and an inability to contain the Explorers' running game left Penn down 3-0 early. "We didn't make all the plays early," Penn assistant coach Bill Wagner said. "We gave them a lot of runs they shouldn't have had." But the Quakers regrouped in the bottom of the third and responded with a two-run inning that brought them back into the game. After the rough third, La Salle starter Damian Derico regained his composure and cruised through the next two innings. The Explorers, meanwhile, tacked on two runs off of Penn's Todd Mahoney. The Red and Blue avoided further damage by catching the lead runner off third base and nailing him in a rundown for the third out. With Penn trailing 5-2 in the sixth, Derico began to show signs of fatigue. After loading the bases without recording an out, La Salle made a pitching change. Fortunately for the Quakers, the change made little difference. With Explorers reliever John Pollillos on the mound, Penn proceeded to mount its most impressive, and only significant, offensive attack of the evening. After Quakers junior Joe Carlon came through with an RBI single, Oliver Hahl's grounder was thrown away by the third baseman, allowing two more runs to score. With freshman Ralph Vasami at the plate, the La Salle catcher allowed the go-ahead run to score on a passed ball. Vasami then hit a deep sacrifice-fly to right, giving Penn a five-run inning and a 7-5 lead. The Explorers came right back in the top of the seventh, scoring two runs (one unearned) off reliever John Dolan, tying the game at 7-7. After seven innings of error-prone, run-scoring madness, the pitchers took over, completely shutting down both offensive attacks. Although the Penn bats went cold -- the Quakers registered only one hit the rest of the way -- they were able to stay alive thanks to quality performances from pitchers Alex Hayden and Ed Kimlin in long relief. They gave way to closer Travis Arbogast in the top of the 11th. La Salle countered with their top pitcher, junior college transfer Will Fleck. Fleck, a pro prospect with a heater in the high 80s, blew by one Penn hitter after another, recording seven strikeouts in three innings Due to yesterday's rainout versus Villanova, the Quakers decided early on to get as many pitchers in the game as possible. As a result, Penn changed hurlers every inning and was left with only one true pitcher, Arbogast, from the 11th inning on. But Arbogast rose to the occasion and delivered one quality inning after another, giving the Penn bats numerous chances to awaken. Unfortunately for the Quakers, Arbogast's flawless performance gave in before their bats came around. In the top of the 16th inning, with Arbogast entering his sixth inning of work, an unheard of distance for a closer, the Explorers came through with a solid fundamental play that gave them the go-ahead run. After the lead-off man drew a walk on a 3-2 count, the Explorers executed a textbook sacrifice bunt, moving the runner to second. La Salle sophomore Toby Fisher followed with a deep shot toward the rightfield corner. Penn's Russ Farscht made a sliding attempt but was unable to come up with the ball cleanly. Fisher ended up on third with the go-ahead run scoring easily on the play. With one last chance in the bottom of the 16th and a runner on first, the Quakers were unable to execute a hit-and-run, leaving the runner a dead duck at second base. The Penn rally ended when Joe Carlon lined out to left. After such an exhausting defeat, the Quakers were disappointed to have so many failed opportunites, but were also able to see the bright side. "It would have been nice to get [Seddon's] win," Quakers first baseman Armen Simonian said, "but the pitching got the chance to get work ? and a lot of guys showed a lot of stuff."