It's been a good few days to be a Penn hitter. The Quakers are batting .344 in their last five games and .295 overall, nearly 50 points higher than their opponents.
The outlier has been Adrian Lorenzo. The freshman outfielder entered Friday's doubleheader against Mount Saint Mary's as Penn's leading hitter but departed from the Quakers' loss to Lafayette under less auspicious circumstances.
After gathering three hits in game two on Friday, Lorenzo wrapped up the weekend by going 0-for-8 with five runners left on base.
He lost his leadoff spot to sophomore Tom Grandieri for Tuesday's game, and after then going 0-for-4 with four more left on base, Cole had seen enough.
He pinch-hit for Lorenzo in the bottom of the ninth of a one-run game with catcher Jeff Cellucci, whose .056 batting average - one hit in 18 at-bats - is just slightly lower than Lorenzo's .316. Four days ago, Lorenzo was batting .444.
His slump spilled onto the field. He misjudged a ball that Lafayette centerfielder Rob Froio sliced down the line in the fifth inning, resulting in the first Lafayette run of its eventual 6-5 victory.
Penn coach John Cole was visibly upset when Lorenzo misjudged the fly ball but seemed more concerned about problems at the plate. When Cole criticized his team's ability to "execute on offense" after losing Saturday's afternoon game against Mount Saint Mary's, there was little doubt which play he had in mind.
In the bottom of the seventh, Lorenzo came to the plate with runners on first and second, no outs, and Penn trailing by one. It was an obvious bunting situation, and Lorenzo got it down - but the ball came out hot, and the Mountaineer's pitcher threw Penn's Mike Gatti out at third. It went in the books as a fielder's choice, but the failure to advance the runners to second and third looked worse after first baseman Kyle Armeny bounced into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Tools of ignorance. Different catchers have started each of the Quakers' last three games. Cole has five backstops on his 27-man roster - with four receiving playing time - meaning that roughly 30 percent of his position players help make up the battery.
So far, the results have been mixed. Mike Mariano, with his .435 average, seems to have the lead on the job, although he struggled defensively on Tuesday.
Cellucci and Will Davis are still seeing plenty of action behind the plate, but Tim May - who hit .295 in 32 games last year - seems to have fallen into Cole's doghouse. He is 1-for-10 in just five games this year.
Touch 'em all. First baseman Kyle Armeny and third baseman William Gordon both hit home runs against the Leopards. They are Nos. 1 and 2 on the team in longballs; Armeny has four and Gordon three. They homered in the same game for the third time this year.
- Staff Writer Matt Flegenheimer and Sports Editor David Gurian-Peck contributed reporting to this article.
