It was nearly 6:30 on Saturday evening when it became clear that the lights over Meiklejohn Stadium could no longer illuminate Penn's opening Ivy League twin bill against Columbia.
The Quakers had won their first game 12-11, but in the late-day twilight, they trailed 7-5 in the bottom of the second game's eighth inning. A Lions victory seemed likely -- that was, until the Quakers rallied for two runs to pull even.
Unable to end the game in a 7-7 tie, the umpires suspended play due to darkness -- to be finished yesterday at Columbia -- and left the Lions wishing they had contained the Red and Blue at five runs.
At Columbia yesterday, Penn picked up the second win, emerging from the continued ninth inning with an 8-7 victory. They had pulled two consecutive comebacks, and needed just one more win to take the series.
But one, then two, games slipped from Penn's grasp, 9-8 and 15-3; the Lions swept the second doubleheader, leaving the Quakers with a 2-2 series record.
"We put ourselves in the position to win the first three games," Penn coach John Cole said. " We won two and then took ourselves out of the last. But we are still fighting."
Fighting was a familiar theme on Saturday for Penn (6-12, 2-2 Ivy), which managed to come from behind in its first game of the series.
"We gave up big innings but then we came back and battled back and we didn't give up," junior Joey Boaen said after Saturday's games. "That was what I was most proud of. Everyone stepped up and made hits when we had to."
Behind starting pitcher Brian Cirri, Penn accumulated a 6-4 lead in the four frames of the opener. But Columbia's bats exploded in the fifth inning as it rallied for six runs to regain an 11-6 lead.
Still, Penn kept fighting.
A two-run double from freshman Tony Moses and an RBI by junior Josh Corn powered the Quakers' offense in the bottom of the sixth, when they earned four runs.
As reliever Doug Brown contained the Lions for two scoreless innings, Penn pulled even with Columbia (4-15, 2-2 Ivy) in the seventh to send the game into extra innings. Boaen's RBI single in the bottom of the eighth sealed a Penn victory after three hours and 18 minutes of play.
"We are very proud of the way our guys came back," Cole said. "They are showing a lot of fight, and that is a huge plus."
Penn jumped to an early start in the first inning of the second game, commanding a 4-0 lead going into the second. But the Lions seemed headed for a comeback of their own as they earned six runs off of starting pitcher Bret Wallace in the third inning.
The Quakers spent the next five innings fighting to pull even before the umpires suspended the game due to lack of visibility.
"We are doing a good job coming out and throwing a big punch right out of the game, but we are not following it up with more jabs," Cole said. "We are kind of sitting back a little bit. It's part of learning. The game is not over in the first inning -- look at how we came back against Columbia."
So the Quakers managed two comebacks on Saturday; but the Lions swept visiting Penn yesterday, leaving each team with a 2-2 weekend to open Ivy League play.
"It's disappointing to win the first two games and not get the series victory," Cole said. "We are taking baby steps, but in a four-game series we need to get three wins."
