After Penn freshman pitcher Joe Thornton retired Saint Joseph's sophomore Ryan Stadanlick for the first out of the game, the Hawks notched eight consecutive hits and six runs to establish a lead that Penn never managed to overcome.
For the Penn baseball team, the 10-7 loss was the result of the same problems it has experienced all season long: poor pitching and a lack of timely hitting.
"You can never look at this team and try to figure them out," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "They may get 12 hits, but the number of hits they get when they need them, you could count on your hand."
Indeed, despite the early six-run deficit, the Quakers (8-24, 3-13 Ivy) still had a legitimate chance at winning the game in the ninth inning. Penn had the bases loaded with no outs in both the seventh inning and the ninth inning. Yet the Quakers only managed one run in the seventh and three in the ninth.
Penn was limited to just seven hits, as St. Joe's starter Bill McCollum held the Quakers to only one earned run in eight innings. Prior to yesterday's game, McCollum (2-5) had a 7.59 earned run average.
"McCollum hasn't had a good year, but he pitched pretty good for four innings," Seddon said.
Only two players for Penn -- senior designated hitter Jon Slaughter, who also recorded three RBIs, and freshman second baseman J.T. Hutchinson -- managed to get more than one hit. Hutchinson subbed in for junior James Dunning and went 2-for-2.
"Slaughter has been consistent all year," Seddon said. "And Hutchinson will be a player you'll hear about next year."
Prior to the game, Hutchinson only had two at-bats all season. But yesterday, the Quakers brought 20 guys to the game and all 20 guys played. Tomorrow, Penn will bring various other players to face Temple, and Seddon plans to play them all again. Seddon explained that Penn can only bring 20 players to interweek non-league games, according to Ivy League rules.
"We're using these games to let these other kids play," Seddon said. "They've practiced with the rest of the guys ... and you really need to find out who will help you next year."
In addition to pitching woes and a lack of timely hitting, Penn has struggled to prevent opponents from stealing this season.
"Our pitchers have to do a better job keeping guys on base," Seddon said. "They ran early in the game, and that happened all weekend" against Cornell.
Seddon noted that junior catcher Matt Horn has thrown out several runners lately, but he did not play yesterday against St. Joe's. Hawks' lead-off hitter, Stadanlick, stole three bases.
"Opponents stealing on us is just another problem," Seddon said. "And all these problems make a team not good."
Another problem that has plagued Penn has been inconsistent pitching. But against St. Joe's, the Quakers pitched well after the six-run first inning. Penn relief pitchers Drew Matheson and Brian Kelly allowed just one run combined in five innings.
"Today we had better performances from pitchers who had lately been struggling," Seddon said.
Penn has performed below expectations this season, winning just one-fourth of its games.
"We thought the season would be better," Seddon said. "We didn't get pitching and some players are underachieving.
"I guess we're all underachieving."
Seddon likened the season to having a scar.
"A scar opens up pretty easy," he said. "When we lose, it's easy to get down.
"But the players have been good," he added. "They don't quit."
