Jarron Smith just needed a little tweak. The junior starts about every other game, but with a three-for-four day in Penn's 11-5 win over Saint Joseph's in the opening round of the Liberty Bell Classic, he has made his case for a full-time spot out in right field.
"I've just been making minor adjustments on my swing," Smith said, "and I've started to see some success."
Smith's performance was all about bat control - in the second and third innings, his seeing-eye singles advanced shortstop William Gordon to third base, putting him in position to score twice, on a fielder's choice and a sacrifice bunt.
In the second, he sent a grounder past the outstretched glove of Hawks shortstop Chris Cashman, and followed that up with a perfect execution of a hit-and-run, poking one through the huge gap on the right side.
Smith also added two lead-extending RBIs later in the game, but he may have ultimately prevented St. Joe's (3-16) from tying the game by gunning down the Hawks' Matt Barnathan at third, who had gambled for the extra base after a Dewey Oriente single with no outs in the sixth.
"Right when I came up with the ball he was just rounding second base," Smith said, "and I knew he was done."
Smith's strong performance brought a smile to coach John Cole's face.
He had a "super all-around game," Cole said. "Jarron brought all his tools today."
While Cole left it up to Smith to do the little things yesterday, the victory could just as easily be chalked up to some of Penn's flashier individual performances.
After the Hawks jumped on Quakers starter Mike Marg early to the tune of three earned runs in the top of the first, catcher Josh Corn's solo blast in the bottom half of the inning kept Penn (7-10) afloat. And after playing small ball for three innings to mount a 5-4 lead by the fifth, and grounding out twice to start off the sixth, the Quakers looked to have cooled down a bit.
But after Cashman couldn't handle a pop fly off the bat of first baseman Tim May, the door opened for another Penn scoring opportunity. Designated hitter Kyle Armeny didn't let it go unrealized, and he turned on a Chris Prescott pitch and wrapped it around the right-field foul pole for a two-run home run.
One of the most noticeable differences from Penn's homestand against Columbia was the stand-up performance by the Quakers' bullpen. Relievers Bret Wallace, Andy Console and Doug Brown each went for two scoreless innings, and lefty Nick Francona picked up the victory in just a third of an inning of work.
Penn will take on Lafayette in the next round of the Liberty Bell Classic, but not before home doubleheaders with both Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend.
The Quakers, already in a hole in their division, will have to hope their momentum survives another four-game stretch of Ivy play.
