Baseball to play for Gehrig lead

Penn plays four games at Princeton this weekend for control of the Ivy League's southern division. Chris Young is used to doing battle with Penn. The All-Ivy basketball player has gone 1-3 against the Quakers on the court in his two years at Old Nassau. But this weekend, he's dancing the old Ivy two-step with the Quakers not on the hardwood, but on the diamond. The Penn baseball team -- second in the Lou Gehrig Division with a 7-5 Ivy League record and an 18-14 overall record -- will travel to Princeton to take on the division-leading Tigers (15-14, 8-4 Ivy) in two games today and two games tomorrow. Both doubleheaders begin at noon. With eight Ivy games to go for each squad -- including the four they have against each other -- and a mere game separating them in the standings, what transpires in the next two days might decide the Quakers' season. "Realistically, you're head-to-head with the team you have to beat," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "This is really the key weekend? it's up to us." Penn's path is clear -- they must take at least three out of four from the Tigers this weekend in order to regain control of their destiny. If the Quakers should split with Princeton, they would remain a game behind in the standings going into the final weekend of Ivy regular season play -- next weekend -- and, to tie the Tigers and force a playoff, would need to not only sweep Columbia but get help from Cornell, which would need to beat Princeton once. Based on Cornell's performance at Murphy Field and Princeton's thorough demolition of Columbia last weekend, it would be unwise for the Quakers to count on the Big Red to save them next weekend should they need saving. Thus, it is up to Penn to do its own dirty work. In Princeton, the Quakers face not only the defending division champs but a squad that defeated them four times last year by the combined score of 25-11. This year, the Tigers have struggled against a tough non-conference schedule, going 7-10 outside of the Ivies. Princeton lost to Rutgers by 11 runs on March 29. The Scarlet Knights are ranked 16th in the Baseball America NCAA Top 25 poll. At the plate, Princeton has three formidable threats in first baseman Andrew Hanson, outfielder Max Krance, the 1998 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and shortstop Pat Boran. Both Hanson and Krance come into today's games with a .381 batting average and are fighting each other for the league batting title. Hanson was named Ivy League Player of the Week for his production in Princeton's sweep of Columbia last weekend. In one game against the Lions, he had 12 RBI. After these three players, though, Seddon believes that there is a definite fall-off in Princeton's prowess with the bat. "Their catchers are OK, and the rest of them, in my opinion, are very mediocre," said Seddon, who believes that taking three of four from Princeton is a realistic goal. "I've been looking at their roster and their players. I really don't feel that they have any edge on us. If they have any edge at all, [it's that] they're playing at home, and they're playing four times at home? I think the teams are very equal." One area in which Princeton may be more equal than the Quakers is starting pitching. Specifically, Penn will have to face Tigers ace Young, who will most likely take the ball in the first game today, and Jason Quintana, who is the probable starter in the first game tomorrow. Young, whom Seddon and the team call "Wonder Boy," has been one of the league's most dominating hurlers since entering the Ivies last year. The tall lefty led the league last year with a 2.38 ERA and struck out 36 in 34 innings en route to a 4-1 record and the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award. As Baseball America's number one pro prospect in the Ivies, Young has been closely looked at by many professional teams. "They'll have 15 scouts back there with the [radar] gun," Seddon said. "We can't get all caught up in that." As many Penn fans will remember, it was Young who two years ago spurned both the baseball and the men's basketball team to wear the orange and black. Would beating Young today make victory just a little bit sweeter for Penn? "If you're asking me, individually, beyond belief, yes," Seddon said. Quintana led the Tigers last year with 53 strikeouts and only walked 14. Princeton will most likely trot Tom Rowland out to the mound in the second game today, and Ryan Quillian will take the ball in the nightcap tomorrow. In the first game today, the Quakers will counter Princeton's starting set with Mike Mattern, fresh off his one-hit complete game shutout victory over Cornell last weekend. Freshman Ben Otero will start the nightcap. Tomorrow, Mark Lacerenza will start the opener, and Andrew McCreery will pitch in the nightcap.

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