YOUNG AND RESTLESS: BASEBALL '99

After losing offensive power to graduation, a younger, hungrier squad eyes the Gehrig title. After losing offensive power to graduation, a younger, hungrier squad eyes the Gehrig title.With the loss of several big bats, this year's squad will have to manufacture runs rather than rely on home runs. The 1998 Penn baseball team smashed the all-time Penn home run record, finished third all-time in runs batted in and averaged nearly eight runs a game. Those records appear to be pretty safe in the hands of this year's squad. Graduated are Armen Simonian, Joe Carlon, Mark Nagata, Drew Corradini and Dave Corleto -- and gone is their tremendous offensive production. Between the five, the Quakers immediately lose 194 hits, 140 RBI and 27 homers. But this is a different, younger, scrappier and hungrier Quakers team. Eighteen of the 28 players on Penn's roster are either freshmen or sophomores and many starting spots are still undecided. "We're playing fundamental baseball," pitcher Sean McDonald said. "We're not playing Gil Hodges baseball where we're just waiting for the long ball. "This year there's going to be a lot of stealing, moving guys around and putting a lot of pressure on the defense instead of sitting back and waiting for the long ball." Penn has to be a team that manufactures runs because unlike last year, when five of Penn's starters were legitimate home run threats, only seniors Glen Ambrosius and Russ Farscht pose serious long ball problems to opposing pitchers. Shortstop and team captain Ambrosius homered eight times, driving in 26 runs and batting .316 last year. He said that Penn will have to rely on "singles and doubles" this year, as opposed to last year's squad, which finished third in the Ivy League's Gehrig Division behind Princeton and Cornell. The shift to a less power-driven offense puts increased pressure on the Quakers pitching staff, which recorded a hefty 7.20 earned run average last season. "Last year's team pounded the ball, but what did it get us?" Penn coach Bob Seddon asked. "The pitching wasn't there." Pitching coach Bill Wagner's group loses workhorse Simonian and his 52.1 innings pitched but McDonald will step into the top spot in the rotation. McDonald, a second team All-Ivy selection, posted a 4-2 mark and a 4.38 ERA. He has shown flashes of brilliance in his two years pitching for the Quakers, no-hitting Cornell and striking out eight batters against Princeton a year ago. Sophomores contending for other spots in the rotation include Brian Burket and Matt Hepler. In 14 innings pitched his freshman year, Burket gave up 22 hits but struck out 13 while walking only four. "Brian Burket last year came on nicely and he had a good summer," Seddon said. "He worked real hard in the summer, pitched a lot of baseball. "He had a good fall, and we look for him to step up." Hepler started five games last year, finishing with a 1-2 record and a 6.97 ERA. He pitched six innings in an 11-2 drubbing of Columbia to net his lone win. Also returning are juniors Anthony Napolitano and John Dolan, who both saw action out of the bullpen last year. "[Napolitano] beat Dartmouth last year -- he's had his moments," Seddon said. "But we need more than just moments." The Quakers will miss the services of last year's closer, Travis Arbogast, who led the staff with a 4.15 ERA. Without a clear-cut replacement waiting in the wings, Seddon and Wagner have to close by committee until a solid candidate for the job arises. "One of our weak links has been [the lack] of a closer," Seddon said. "We're trying to find a closer in the worst way. We're trying to develop a freshman pitcher possibly into that role, or maybe one of the veteran pitchers." In the field, many of the positions are set but a few are still up in the air. The final starting lineup will most likely be decided by the play on the team's trip to California, which begins Saturday. The trip will feature games at Cal State-Pomona, Whittier College and in the Fresno State/Pepsi Classic tournament. At first, the lefty Farscht will grab the lion's share of the playing time at first base, having started there for the past two years. Seddon gave sophomore Travis Putnam the nod at second, where he saw limited action last year backing up Carlon. Sophomore Jim Mullen, last year's Penn Rookie of the Year, will start at third base. He hit .327 with five RBIs and one home run -- a game-winning shot against Dartmouth. Also competing for playing time in the infield is senior Shawn Spiezio, who switch hits and has spent at all four positions during his Penn career. Seddon touted his outfield as a stronger part of the team's defense. All-Ivy selection Corradini is the team's "biggest loss," according to Seddon, not only for his team-leading 55 hits, but also for his glove. Sophomore Randy Ferrell is expected to step into the centerfield spot. He got into 20 games as a rookie while seeing significant action as a pinch runner. In left, Jeremy McDowell hit .275 with three homers and 16 RBIs last year while posting a perfect fielding percentage. "McDowell has looked very good early on," Seddon said. "He had a great start last year, but it kind of fizzled toward the end." A battle is brewing in right field between Kevin Johnson, Kevin McCabe and Ron Rolph, who also pitches. Among the three, Seddon said Johnson has the stronger arm but McCabe and Rolph have the edge in speed. "The outfield is a strong part of our team," Seddon said. "It's very good defensively -- they're about five-deep there." At catcher, junior Ralph Vasami, who saw action backing up Corleto last year, is the leading contender for the starting spot, but with junior Jeff Gregorio and three freshmen catchers on the roster vying for innings, the group will share time. "Obviously the experience isn't there but it should be a strong area," Seddon said. "I don't see one catcher doing all the catching." With so many inexperienced underclassmen on the team and so few opportunities to play thus far, questions still hang over the Quakers. But Penn remains confident that youth will be an asset, not a liability. "We haven't gotten out much this year, so it's going to show in some ways," Ambrosius said. "But we've worked a lot harder this year as far as the team as a whole, probably because there's more younger guys and more positions to be won." The new youth and vigor has paid off in terms of intra-team competition, but the as yet unproven run-manufacturing offense and the inexperienced pitching staff should get a major test in California.

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