Despite winning three of its last five games, the Penn baseball team believes that it has been building momentum.
"A lot of baseball is all about momentum and riding it," second baseman Nick Italiano said. "We like to build to a crescendo at the end of the season. I think that we've been playing well lately."
The Quakers will look to build to this 'crescendo' this weekend as they play two double-headers in two days -- tomorrow against West Chester and Sunday against Hartford.
Division II's West Chester could give the Quakers some trouble tomorrow.
While the Golden Rams haven't played the toughest of teams, they have crushed their competition this season, outscoring opponents 121-22, en route to a 10-1 record.
"They've been playing real well all year," Italiano said. "They have good pitchers and hitters. We're going to have to come out and play our best against them."
With five starters batting over .400, the Golden Rams have a potent offense, led by infielder Josh Wagner.
Wagner, who is batting .439 with a slugging percentage of .683, is among the top three players in every major statistical category for West Chester. He leads his team in runs scored (17), hits (18), doubles (6) and triples (2).
The Golden Rams also feature an impressive pitching staff, with three starting pitchers with an ERA under 1.00; opponents have hit merely .220 against West Chester this season.
Two starting pitchers, Dan Gentekos and Jeff Brennan, anchor the Golden Rams staff.
Gentekos (2-0) has an ERA of 0.45 in his three starts this season, while Brennan (3-0) has an ERA of 0.75 in his three starts, two of which were complete games.
The probably starters for the Quakers against West Chester are Russ Brocato (1-0, 2.57 ERA) and Ben Krantz (0-2, 14.46 ERA).
Sunday's games against Hartford should prove to be the easier matchup of the weekend for Penn.
The Hawks are 1-6 this season, but they are coming off of their lone victory of the year, a 5-4 win at Sacred Heart.
"We really don't know much about them," Italiano said. "But we still need to take them seriously and play our best."
Hartford features a lackluster offense that bats just .260 and has been outscored by its opponents 65-36 this year,
A bright spot in the lineup for the Hawks this season, however, has been senior infielder Ryan Waldron.
Waldron has been an offensive machine this season, batting .526 with a slugging percentage of 1.158, leading his team in hits (10), doubles (3), home runs (3) and RBI (9) as well.
Hartford's pitching staff has been as unimpressive as its offense, with a combined ERA of 9.85.
With an ERA of 5.73, Brian Mascaro (1-1) is the team's best starting pitcher.
Probable starters for the Quakers Sunday will be Andrew McCreery (0-1, 8.76 ERA) and Billy Kirk (0-1, 10.57 ERA).
Penn has been trying to improve its technique during practice this week in preparation for the games.
"During the week our pitching staff has been working on throwing a lot more strikes," Italiano said. "On the offensive side, we have to become a little more patient. We have been working on getting more men on base so we can drive more runners in."
