It's always a big weekend for Penn baseball when rival Princeton comes to town, but this year's visit is unique because of the additional festivities that will take place to honor retiring Quakers coach Bob Seddon.
Penn (9-18, 5-7 Ivy) will attempt to close the gap between Penn and the division-leading Tigers (11-15, 5-3) in tomorrow's and Sunday's doubleheaders at Murphy Field.
There is sure to be a sizeable crowd of Penn baseball alumni and parents on hand to witness the Lou Gehrig Division showdown -- as well as the on-field ceremonies scheduled in between each day's games.
In addition to tonight's dinner honoring Seddon at the Philadelphia Racquet Club, friends of the baseball program will be treated to more food at an 11 a.m. barbecue at Murphy Field that will precede tomorrow's games.
Following tomorrow's opening game, Seddon will be officially honored for his 37 years of dedication to the Penn baseball program, including 34 as head coach.
Those alumni hoping to catch up with the coach will get their chance to do so after the games in Weightman Hall for the Senior Players and Alumni Reception.
On Sunday, the downtime between games will again be devoted to honoring Seddon, as he will be inducted into the Penn Baseball Hall of Fame.
"It's nice to know that so many friends and other people care and that maybe I had some input in people's lives," Seddon humbly said of his public recognition. "And I think the fact that they've given back financially and that a lot [of alumni] are coming back is a testament to that."
This weekend's games will also be the last at Murphy Field for the Quakers' 12 seniors, many of whom make up the team's starting lineup.
Building off of the momentum picked up from Wednesday's utter domination of Saint Joseph's, Penn hopes to keep up the strong hitting and make sure that the seniors' last hurrah will be memorable.
This will be no easy task, however -- Princeton has played solid baseball all season.
After beginning the year just like the Quakers -- with nine straight losses -- the Tigers have gone 11-6 and have proven themselves to be one of the stronger teams in the Ivy League.
"A sweep would be nice -- it's a tall order, but it'd be nice," Seddon said of his team's chances. "But Princeton is certainly beatable."
The Tigers lost three out of their last four Ivy League matchups to drop to 5-3 in league games, but then rallied back to clobber Seton Hall 10-0 on Tuesday.
They will be led by left-handed slugger Will Venable -- a second-team All-Ivy player for the Tigers' basketball team -- who has hit six home runs thus far and currently leads the Ivy League with a .440 batting average.
The Quakers will attempt to neutralize the senior outfielder by throwing their left-handed ace Josh Appell tomorrow and freshman southpaw Nick Francona the following day.
Their pitching staff has pitched consistently all season long, in contrast to the Quakers' streaky performances at the plate.
Although they picked up 19 hits against St. Joe's, the Quakers have had trouble hitting against some of the league's more dominant pitchers.
Penn first baseman Sean Abate, who has provided offensive firepower as of late, pointed out that both teams will come out with high intensity for such an important matchup.
"We're all very excited because of the big rivalry," Abate said. "We're ready for them to come and bring it because this is our season right here."
The Quakers need to at least earn a split of the four-game set in order to stay in the Gehrig division race. Currently, Penn trails Princeton by just two games in the standings, but the Tigers have four fewer losses than the Quakers.
"There's going to be a lot of emotions flying, but it should be a lot of fun," Abate added. "We're hoping to end it right by winning the division and going on to play some more games."
