It's hard to win a baseball game with only three hits.
Penn (0-9) fell to crosstown rival Temple yesterday afternoon at Murphy Field by the score of 5-2. The loss was disappointing for the Quakers, as they fell behind early and could not get anything going offensively.
Coming off a quick 1-2-3 first inning, Penn starting pitcher Steven Schwartz began the second by hitting the first batter, throwing a wild pitch, and then hitting the next batter for good measure.
After a sacrifice bunt advanced the two runners, the Owls' Dan Brady took full advantage of the Quakers' miscues and drove in his team's first two runs with a single to left.
Penn pitchers hit three batters in total and walked six more on the day, giving the Owls (5-6) plenty of opportunities to capitalize.
"When we make mistakes, they take advantage," coach Bob Seddon said. "That's all part of what happens when you're not going good."
Seddon was quick to clarify that "we're not playing bad baseball, we're just not hitting."
The Red and Blue hit the ball solidly all day, but very few escaped the reach of Temple's fielders.
The Owls' starter, freshman Eric Fritz, did not give up his first hit until the sixth inning.
So while the Quakers struggled at the plate, Temple built up its lead, picking up two runs in the third and another in the sixth.
Penn eventually scored two runs -- one in the seventh and one in the ninth -- but faltered when the opportunity for a rally arose.
Second baseman Andrew Bechta led off the bottom of the sixth with a single up the middle and then advanced to second when Alex Blagojevich walked.
With runners on first and second and no outs, the Quakers had a great chance to turn things around with a big inning.
At that point, Temple brought in reliever Chris Hamilton, who quickly retired the side.
Penn captain Evan Sobel pointed out that, in order to win a game, the team has to generate some offense.
"I think we just need one inning where we get five or six runs and break out and have a rally," the shortstop said. "It also helps to get ahead in the game as opposed to working from behind."
The Quakers have only held the lead once in their nine games this season.
