Baseball welcomes Princeton

Ivy Basketball Rookie of the Year Chris Young leads a strong Princeton pitching staff against a reeling Penn squad. and Andrew McLaughlin Thus far, the Penn baseball season has been a forgettable one. But the Quakers hope that this weekend will be different. After all -- it's Princeton. On paper, at least, the Tigers pitching staff looks as if it could shut down the Quakers' bats. Penn has scored an average of just over three runs per game over its last 10 outings, not counting a 13-7 win over Yale, the only victory in that stretch. But when the Tigers (10-15, 4-4 Ivy League) visit Bower Field to take on Penn (6-23, 3-9) for doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday at noon, the records can be thrown out. "These definitely seem to be the games we get up the most for, no matter what our record is at the time," senior first baseman Russ Farscht said. "Definitely it's extra-intensive." This version of the rivalry has its fair share of history, especially for the Penn seniors. In 1996 and 1997, Penn and Princeton finished the season tied atop the Gehrig Division standings and both times the Tigers emerged victorious in a one-game playoff. Last year's squad dropped three of four to the Tigers, effectively eliminating it from Gehrig title contention. Penn pitcher Sean McDonald earned the lone win, 8-1, against Princeton in '98, going all seven innings and giving up just one run and six hits. "Last year, I was pretty successful against an offensive-minded Princeton team so I don't see why this year should be any different," McDonald said. Farscht led the Penn attack in that win, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and four RBIs. Despite their current record, three or four wins this weekend can vault the Quakers out of the cellar and into contention in the Gehrig race. But they will first have to deal with a solid Tigers pitching staff -- which is keyed by none other than Ivy League Basketball Rookie of the Year Chris Young. Princeton's 6'10'' right-hander has been nothing short of stellar thus far and is making a compelling case for garnering the Rookie of the Year in baseball as well. In three starts, Young has compiled a 2-0 record, a 0.60 earned run average and has given up just six hits in 15 innings of work. Opposing hitters are batting a meager .125 against Young, who threw a complete game two-hitter against Ivy power Harvard in his last start. "He's big, throws strikes and has good off-speed stuff," Princeton coach Scott Bradley said. "He has great command." But Farscht was undaunted by Young's success thus far. "We've seen really good pitching in California, so it's nothing to worry about," he said. "You have to go out there like it's just another pitcher and just do your thing." The Quakers will counter with two freshman pitchers of their own -- Mike Mattern and Mark Lacerenza. Mattern leads the staff with a 3.98 ERA, a 5-2 record and 33 strikeouts. In his most recent effort, he picked up a loss at Drexel on Wednesday. He pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up four runs -- only one earned -- in relief of Lacerenza, who gave up four runs in 2 1/3 innings. Lacerenza is 0-4 on the year with a 5.70 ERA. He has struck out 20 batters in 30 innings and has pitched two complete games. Princeton will certainly not be the most potent offensive team Mattern and Lacerenza have faced this year. The Tigers are batting only .248 as a team and are averaging just 4.2 runs per game. "Their pitching staff keeps them in the game and their hitters hopefully outscore whatever their pitcher gives up," McDonald said. For the young Quakers squad, coming away from the weekend on the upside of the doubleheader series would go far in building confidence, especially in this season full of lowlights. And doing it against Princeton would be that much sweeter.

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