Cornell series to bring Rolfe title chase into focus

There are only four teams in the Gehrig Division of the Ivy League.

Yet Penn has not finished with even a share of first since Mark DeRosa's senior season ten years ago. Sole possession has eluded them for even longer.

The Quakers (13-14, 7-5 Ivy) can take a huge step towards erasing that futility this weekend when they take on first-place Cornell (12-14, 5-3).

"It's where you want to be at the end of the year," head coach John Cole said. "With two series left, you want to be in a position where you somewhat control your own destiny."

Cole thinks his young team will be able to cope with the pressure of a postseason push.

"I'll tell you what, they certainly handled it last weekend," he said. "To go on the road and get three of four, they grew up a little bit. I think they'll handle the challenge."

To do that, they will need to take care of the left-handed bat of Brian Kaufman. The junior outfielder leads the Big Red with three home runs, 19 runs batted in, and a .469 slugging percentage. He has also stolen ten bases in 13 attempts; his teammates have combined to swipe 10 in 18 tries.

Penn freshman ace Todd Roth, who has accumulated a miniscule 1.74 earned run average while striking out a batter an inning, is unfazed for now.

"[Cole] is probably going to have me do my own thing," Roth said. "We don't really adjust to hitters to much as we do work to our pitchers' strengths."

Besides Kaufman, Cornell boasts no standouts at the plate or in the rotation. According to Cole, their strength lies in throwing strikes and executing the hit-and-run often.

"They're going to throw off-speed over the plate," Cole said. "We're focusing on hitting the ball to centerfield so we stay in and look at those off-speed pitches longer.

"The team that creates pressure first will be the team that comes out on top," he added.

There is another reason he wants to have an early lead - fear of the Big Red's big lefty closer, Blake Hamilton. Hamilton's numbers aren't spectacular - two saves, a 5.23 ERA, and a .299 opponents' batting average - but staying away from him was what Cole called the one key to the game. He also hopes to limit his effectiveness by not stacking his left-handed hitters.

In fact, the whole Penn lineup is getting an overhaul.

"We're gonna put that thing in a blender and mix it up again," he said.

The pitching rotation, on the other hand, will be more of the same. Cole does not finalize any personal decisions until the Friday before a weekend series, but freshman lefty Jim Birmingham and Doug Brown will probably join Roth in the rotation. The fourth starter is undetermined.

Brown, the former closer, was fabulous in his first start after being demoted, but gave up eight earned runs in two and two-thirds innings against his namesake.

William Gordon is finally healthy enough to step into the closer role that Brown vacated. Although he has been playing shortstop, an arm injury kept him off the mound until Wednesday versus La Salle, when he struck out two in one inning.

Roth thinks that the Quakers' freshmen are ready to help Penn reach the postseason.

"It's what our goals have been," he said. "As freshman . we don't know the losing ways of Penn. We just know this season, and I think that's a good thing."

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