Too much sun is bad for you anyway, right?
After an uneven 10-day, seven-game swing in Boca Raton, Fla., the Penn baseball team is heading north of Philadelphia - to Ambler, Pa. - for its first showdown back in the northeast. There, the Quakers (3-5) will meet Temple (7-7) at the Owls' Skip Wilson Field this afternoon.
The Red and Blue ended their Florida trip on a high note - downing Dominican (N.Y.) and New Jersey Institute of Technology by a combined 19-2 in a Saturday doubleheader sweep - but managed just a 3-4 record overall on the spring break slate.
After suffering some embarrassing defeats to Big East foes Connecticut and Pittsburgh down in Boca - 18-0 and 14-2, respectively - the Quakers open their Big 5 season today with a more winnable contest.
Though Temple entered this in-state showdown last season as winners of five straight against the Quakers, Penn beat the Owls 5-1 at Meiklejohn Stadium to end its half-decade drought.
In that game, Temple's Eric Fritz allowed three unearned runs - stemming from his own fielding error - to give Penn some key late-inning insurance.
Today, Fritz gets the start for the Owls.
"He has very good stuff - an average fastball with an above-average breaking ball and changeup," said Temple coach Rob Valli.
"The question mark with Eric is his ability to command all three pitches in the zone."
Then-freshman second baseman Steve Gable did much of the Quakers' damage against Fritz last season, plating two of the three seventh-inning runs allowed by Fritz with a one-out single.
After an up-and-down rookie campaign in 2007 - he hit just .210 - Gable has enjoyed a sophomore surge this season, leading the team with 14 hits and a .486 on-base percentage.
His eight RBI through eight games are good for second on the team behind senior captain Kyle Armeny. Last season, Gable managed just 14 RBI in 38 starts for the Quakers.
"For young hitters, it's [always] a whole new world," Penn coach John Cole said. "The more you get out there, the better."
On the pitching front, Cole has expressed concern about his team's ability to get left-handed hitters out. Sophomore Tom Grandieri is the only southpaw on staff, and the Quakers dearth of lefty arms took its toll in Boca. With only righties to call on, Cole was often forced to leave overmatched relievers in against powerful left-handed bats.
Fortunately for the Quakers and their coach, the Owls might have some trouble exploiting this weakness: Temple's lone lefty regular, junior outfielder Jamie Abercrombie, is hitting just .184 on the year, though he did hit .292 in 2007.
As he did last year against Temple, Cole plans to use a starter-by-committee approach in today's contest, bringing in a slew of bullpen arms to string together a few outs apiece.
And after last season's streak-snapping win, it's hard to knock the strategy.
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