The Hartford Hawks officially opened their baseball season with a doubleheader against Penn on Saturday, but the Quakers also took the opportunity to start fresh.
The Red and Blue defeated Hartford by scores of 5-4 and 8-3 at Murphy Field -- their first wins of the season after nine straight losses.
The additional doubleheader, scheduled for yesterday, was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Had the games taken place, the Quakers would have had the chance to pick up a few more wins and increase their momentum going into this week's Liberty Bell Classic Tournament.
On Saturday, Penn broke many of the bad habits it had begun to develop early this year, most notably that of leaving runners on base in scoring position. The team had struggled at the plate in previous games and was looking for an offensive spark against Hartford.
"Basically in the first game it was nip-and-tuck," coach Bob Seddon said. "We didn't hit much, but we got great hits when it counted, which is something we hadn't been doing"
In the bottom of the fourth, Alex Blagojevich stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. The senior outfielder ripped a double into left center field, clearing the bases and putting Penn ahead, 3-2.
Blagojevich, the team leader in both RBIs and doubles, had come through with the perfect response to Hartford's two runs during the top half of the inning.
With the score knotted at three after the seventh and final regulation inning, the teams headed to extra frames. And the Quakers were forced to come from behind again after letting the Hawks pick up the potential winning run in the top of the ninth.
In the bottom of the frame, pinch runner J.T. Hutchinson scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at four. Blagojevich followed right behind him on the basepath and stood at third base as the winning run.
A single up the middle by Nate Moffie brought him in to give the Quakers their first win of the year and some confidence going into the day's next game.
During the second contest, Penn briefly exploded on offense, churning out a total of seven hits -- six of which were a part of two consecutive four-run innings.
The Quakers really got the bats going in the second and third innings, as they put together consecutive big innings for the first time all year.
Those eight runs proved to be enough, as Hartford was only able to squeeze out three runs over the seven-inning game.
Senior outfielder Bryan Graves was an integral part of both Penn rallies, as he ripped a two-RBI double in the second and then singled in the third to drive in another run.
"Graves definitely had a breakout day," Seddon said. "And we need that from Bryan, who had a little slump to start the season."
After starting off a little slowly, Graves has come on of late. His defense, however, has remained solid throughout his offensive troubles.
Seddon also praised his team as a whole for maintaining solid defense throughout the losing streak. He also felt the games' results were a direct result of the Quakers recent success in practice.
"I told the team to practice as they play," Seddon said. "And I knew they were going to play well because they were very sharp in practice."
