Another afternoon of baseball, another head-scratcher for the Penn baseball team.
Mike Gentile hit a go-ahead solo homer off of Penn sophomore Brian Kelly in the top of the eighth inning, leading Saint Joseph's to a 4-2 victory over the Quakers at Murphy Field yesterday.
While the Red and Blue had their chances offensively, three double plays and a number of missed opportunities with runners in scoring position doomed Penn (5-13, 1-3 Ivy) to its fifth straight loss.
"The bottom line, and it's a shame, is that the team is not getting it done," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "We just didn't execute. We had a chance to win the game. We just can't get the pitching with the hitting. We do one or the other, we just don't do it as a unit."
Indeed, just as the Quakers' pitching staff seems to be rounding into form, their bats have gone silent. The team has scored just nine runs in its last four games since a 19-9 loss to Columbia on Saturday.
Seddon used six pitchers against the Hawks, and all pitched credibly. The coaches have emphasized the importance of throwing strikes, and while the Quakers still walked five batters, the improvement was apparent.
"Today was pretty promising," Penn junior catcher Matt Horn said about his pitchers. "We saw a lot of guys battle back and have some pretty good outings. The problems have been throwing strikes and the defense.
"But today, pitchers came out and threw strikes, and you see how effective they can be when they do that. Everyone that threw today was realizing that the secret to getting hitters out is throwing strikes."
St. Joseph's got on the board early when Penn's starter Bill Kirk threw a first-inning wild pitch, scoring Gentile. But Kirk worked his way out of the first with the help of Horn, who gunned down the Hawks' Ryan Stadanlick at second. Horn threw out another base runner in the fifth.
After double plays ruined the Quakers' first two innings, they broke through in the fifth to tie the game at one on a two-out RBI single by designated hitter Jon Slaughter. But Hawks starter Jason Volker prevented further damage by getting first baseman Spencer Witte to ground out with runners on second and third and two out.
While not dominating, Volker went the distance for St. Joseph's to pick up his first victory of the season. He gave up seven hits and two earned runs in nine innings.
Penn found itself down, 2-1, in the bottom of the sixth inning when sophomore Sean Abate, pinch-hitting for Witte, smashed a groundball that hit the edge of the infield grass. It bounced over the first baseman's head and into right field, allowing senior Mike Goldblatt to score the tying run.
But this was the last offense Penn could muster.
Penn's pitching held tough until the bottom of the eighth. Kelly, in his second inning of work, left one in the zone to Gentile on a 1-1 count, and the Hawks' first baseman launched it into the net in right-center field. Gentile finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
St. Joseph's, which has had all sorts of trouble holding leads in the late innings this season, had no such trouble yesterday. Volker retired the side in order in the bottom of the eighth, and the Hawks added an insurance run in the ninth.
Volker ended the game strong, retiring Penn junior Alex Blagojevich on a flyball after striking out the first two batters of the inning.
Seddon, who attempted to shake things up before the game by moving lead-off hitter Nate Moffie to the third hole, seemed confused by his team's lack of offensive production.
"I don't know what's happened," Seddon said. "But suddenly since last Saturday we stopped hitting. But at least the pitching's getting better."
