Since the Penn baseball team returned from its spring-break trip, a few people have risen to the occasion and given the Quakers a leg up on the competition - the Meiklejohn Stadium grounds crew.
Today's Liberty Bell Classic opener against Lafayette was supposed to be on the Leopards' home field in Easton, Pa., but because the conditions at Meiklejohn are more playable, the game has been moved to Philadelphia.
Last weekend, Penn's doubleheaders against Mount St. Mary's were originally scheduled to be played in Emmitsburg, Md., but they also became Quakers' home games.
And while the Red and Blue are likely grateful to the maintenance crew for mopping, cleaning and raking after some inclement weather, coach John Cole is even more impressed with the team's young hitters, who are doing some raking of their own.
"The freshmen are holding their own; they're doing a pretty good job," he said.
Penn's rookies took their share of lumps to start the season but have started to come along nicely. Catcher-designated hitter Mike Mariano shone over the weekend, going 6-for-12 with two runs batted in and a home run.
But as with most weekday games, Cole might be more concerned about the state of his staff.
A pitching-by-committee approach will be used today, as no hurler will go for more than two innings. The midweek game doesn't put additional strain on Penn's shallow staff - according to Cole, it's often used in place of a tune-up practice session in the bullpen.
"Usually two to three days after [a long start] is what they call a short day, same way they do it in the big leagues," Cole said. "The guy will go in the bullpen with a coach, throw an inning, 25-30 pitches . Or, you pitch him in a game. We're not in the big leagues, so we pitch him in a game."
Today's contest, however, will be the first step on the way to a big league-type experience for Penn. The finals of the eight-team Liberty Bell Classic will be played at Citizens Bank Park on April 8.
Lafayette has gone to the finals the past two seasons, winning it all last year, and Leopards coach Joe Kinney wants to play on Broad Street once again.
"It puts a little bit more meaning into it," he said. "That puts a little bit more attention to a midweek situation which normally doesn't get a lot of attention."
Last season, the Quakers were thwarted in the semifinals after a 10-2 loss to the Leopards, who boast many of the same weapons this year.
Senior catcher Tom Ambrosole and junior first baseman Joe Ezekiel have combined for five homers and 25 RBI, providing two big right-handed bats in the middle of the order.
Kinney said his team's hitting has been "a little longer to come around," though the pitching has been consistent.
But today, the Quakers will face junior Ryan Hanna, a righthander who is sporting a bloated 10.32 earned run average in three starts.
Despite the incentive that Citizens Bank Park provides, this contest may be first and foremost a barometer for Penn's younger players.
"It's good to play in close games this time of year," Cole said, "because you can see which kids can handle the pressure and who can't."
