Hawks outslug May-less Baseball

The Penn baseball team took on St. Joseph's at Murphy Field yesterday without its most potent offensive weapon, Chris May. He was missed. The Quakers fell to the Hawks in a 15-11 shootout in which the Quakers could have used their leader in home runs and batting average. Instead, May sat out with a sore elbow. "The trainers said he shouldn't play," Penn coach Bob Seddon said of his right fielder. "They thought it was best if he rested it." Despite May's absence, the coaches thought they might see some offensive fireworks. "I was talking to Bob before the game and, because of our pitching situation, we figured it would end up something like this," St. Joe's head coach Jim Ertel said. The coaches didn't have to wait very long to see their pre-game predictions come true. Freshman Russ Brocato -- who has been solid most of the year -- got the starting nod for the Quakers and didn't fare well. Brocato was slated to go three innings but was pulled with just one out in the third after he gave up eight runs on eight hits and two walks. "We got ourselves in a hole early," Seddon said. "Brocato did not have a good outing." Still, his teammates know that Brocato shows promise. "He's pitched well during the whole season," Penn sophomore second baseman Nick Italiano said. "He was leaving his balls a little up today, and he had a tough one, but he's definitely a great prospect for us and will be really important down the road." Despite the fact that Brocato's performance today left a lot to be desired, he managed to avoid picking up the loss thanks to the Quakers' offensive output. The Red and Blue first got on the board in the bottom of the second thanks to a nice surprise off the bat of senior Ron Rolph, who has struggled at the plate for most of the season. Rolph -- who usually plays first but yesterday was manning right field in place of the injured Chris May -- sent St. Joe's Eric Vardijan's pitch over the wall in center field for his first home run of the year, a three-run shot. The Quakers sent another run across the plate to finish the second down 5-4. In the top of the third, Brocato gave up three runs and was replaced by senior Matt Hepler. Hepler kept the Quakers in the game through the middle innings. He didn't allow a run, and he retired the Hawks in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth. Hepler was replaced in the seventh by junior Mark Lacerenza, who would eventually get the loss. "Hepler did a good job," Seddon said. "He could've gone further, but then he couldn't pitch the weekend, so what do you do?" During Hepler's stint on the mound, the Quakers scored four runs to the Hawks' one, tying the game at eight apiece. The Hawks and Quakers each picked up a run in the seventh, which meant they were knotted at nine heading into the eighth. But Lacerenza gave up four more runs, while closer Nick Barnhorst gave up two, and the Hawks put the game out of reach. News and Notes The teams hit six combined home runs on the day, a Murphy Field record. The Hawks hit four homers, while Rolph and Billy Collins each went deep for the Quakers.

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