Baseball takes its act on the road

In search of consistent quality pitching, Penn Baseball heads up to Harvard and Darmouth. and Kate Goldhaber The way things are going for Penn baseball, the Quakers will need to put multiple runs on the scoreboard in their first ups. Otherwise, if the past few weeks are any indication, the game will already be out of reach before the batters take a second round of swings. Quakers pitching has perpetually left the team stranded in the sun. Patiently awaiting the necessary three outs, Penn (7-13-1, 4-4 Ivy League) has watched its opponents rack up more runs than its Ivy League-leading batters can counter. Even more frustrating than a six-game losing streak is that recent offensive firepower from Joe Carlon, Drew Corrandini, Glen Ambrosius and Mark Nagata's red-hot bats has gone to waste, as the Quakers' pitchers remain unable to retire the side. "We just got to continue swinging the bats," Penn first baseman Russ Farscht said. "You can't carry the pitching. We just have to keep going and wait for everything to click." Penn pitching coach Bill Wagner can't be pleased by the trend of poor starts and blown saves. On Wednesday, Wagner's staff was unable to get the job done against La Salle. The coaching staff has discussed employing the Princeton basketball strategy on diamond -- slowing the game down, hoping that this will help Quakers pitchers focus both on the baserunnners and home plate. Things don't get any easier for the Red and Blue this weekend in New England, as the Quakers take the diamond for a Friday doubleheader at Harvard (11-7, 4-4) and a Saturday twinbill with Dartmouth (12-6, 0-4). For the Quakers to turn it around this weekend against the Crimson and Big Green, Penn coach Bob Seddon must get stronger performances on the mound from start to finish. In the weekend's first pair, Penn will have little room to falter. Seven of the nine Crimson starters are batting above the .300 mark. Even though Harvard is lacking in extra base power, the speed of tablesetters Hal Carey (12 stolen bases) and Peter Woodfork (10 SBs) are continually turning base hits into doubles. And most importantly, Harvard starters keep the opposition off the scoreboard. Crimson staff ace John Birtwell is looking much like a 1989 Orel Hersheiser -- a perfect 3-0 and yet to surrender an earned run in 18.2 innings. No. 2 starter Andrew Duffell isn't much worse, with a 0.87 ERA in 10.1 innings. Even the weaker half of Harvard's rotation is looking tough this season. Rich Linden is looking almost as strong on the diamond as he did this fall on the football field, allowing 2.30 runs per game. And No. 4 starter Garett Vail maintains a respectable 4.67 ERA. Penn will send struggling ace Armen Simonian and his 5.67 ERA to the hill in the first game and Matt Hepler in the second. "I'm going to try to work on being a little more focused," Simonian said. "I walked a few guys at Brown, which is uncharacteristic of me. I can't split on one or two pitches." Saturday in Hanover, N.H., should prove more palatable to the Quakers. Dartmouth got swept four straight last weekend, losing a pair to both Cornell and Brown. Big Green ace Dan Godfrey is off to a good start as shown by his 2.25 ERA. But the other Dartmouth starters last weekend were as cold as Hanover feels with the wind-chill factor early in the season. Unlike Linden, Big Green two-sport athlete Pete Sellers' arm is beginning to look best kept on the football field. The Dartmouth quarterback has a 5.70 ERA.

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