When the Penn baseball team embarked on its spring break trip to Boca Raton, Fla., it had just a single game under its belt.
So, with the Quakers still making adjustments to new roles and new faces, their seven-game slate probably felt more like spring training than a crucial chunk of the regular season.
The team held on through an up-and-down seven games, posting a 3-4 record and taking a few steps toward solidifying an everyday lineup and starting rotation.
"We're gonna have to make a lot of adjustments, but when you have a very, very young team, that's expected," coach John Cole said.
"When your pitching staff is that young, they're gonna go up and down over the course of a week."
Sophomore ace Todd Roth, however, was the picture of consistency, picking up a pair of wins (an 11-3 contest against Maine nine days ago, and a 12-1 blowout over the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday).
But even more impressive was just how dominant he was - he struck out 18 in 14 innings of work, and posted a 1.93 ERA for the week.
But before Roth could get to work, the Quakers opened up the week with a pair of close losses - a 7-4, 13-inning affair against Lehigh and a 9-8 contest against Air Force.
Senior Andy Console and freshman Jeremy Maas got the starts on mound, but the onus isn't completely on them. According to Cole, the Quakers' hitters couldn't give them the support they needed.
"It was disappointing because we were under pressure," Cole said. "We couldn't create anything offensively and we were just kind of holding it together."
While Penn couldn't quite catch up to Air Force, its hot hitters led into a week-making performance against Maine in the second half of a Sunday doubleheader.
Not only did Roth quell the big bats of slugger Curt Smith and Myckie Lugbauer, who Cole said is a potential MLB draft pick, but the Quakers' bats woke up as well.
Penn tallied 16 hits (including four from second baseman Steve Gable), helping the Red and Blue to a 10-run lead after three innings. The Black Bears couldn't catch up, and wound up on the wrong end of an 11-3 contest.
"I was very pleased, it was kind of a complete game for us," Cole said.
The next two outings, however, were not as pleasant. The Quakers fell to Connecticut and Pittsburgh by scores of 18-0 and 14-2, respectively, as Penn pitchers struggled mightily.
The Red and Blue could find no antidote for the Huskies' big bats - Penn gave up four homers, and all seven Quakers pitchers were touched for at least one earned run.
The Panthers were slightly more merciful, but still managed to push through 13 base hits in a romp.
After a pair of Big East blowouts, Penn would have relished a rebound opportunity, but its Friday game against Penn State was rained out and never made up.
However, the Saturday doubleheader against Dominican (N.Y.) and NJIT gave the Quakers a chance to take out some of their frustration, as they picked up wins of 7-1 and 12-1.
First baseman Kyle Armeny homered and knocked in six runs over the twin bill, and Penn registered 31 total hits.
The most pleasant surprise of the doubleheader may have been lefty pitcher Tom Grandieri, who made his first start of the season. He threw 5.1 innings against Dominican, and gave up a single hit and earned run. As the team's sole left-handed pitcher, Grandieri could be a lynchpin for the Quakers' staff this season.
"It's a left-handers' game, and we gotta kind of adjust from there," Cole said. "He kept the game close and gave us a chance to win."
Even after playing seven games in eight days, Penn isn't done adjusting. After all, with such a youthful team, it can take a long time for the chips to fall into place. And despite a lackluster start, Cole isn't worried.
"We really didn't play well until the end," Cole said. "Now we'll put 'em back in the batch, sort it and start to make adjustments."
