Harvard's record is a measly 1-17 overall and 0-2 in the Ivy League. Dartmouth was dead last in the Rolfe Division last year. But Penn's top starting pitcher and captain Todd Roth is not looking forward to the northward road trip his team has on tap.
"It's probably gonna be a really long weekend," he said.
Roth may be speaking literally, as the Quakers (9-9, 1-2 Ivy) face the prospect of inclement weather in Hanover, N.H., tomorrow, which could push their doubleheader against the Big Green (10-8, 4-0) to Monday.
But while Harvard may be a bit emasculated by its record, and Dartmouth by its reputation, Penn's weekend may be a long one even if the clouds don't open up.
The Crimson's putrid record is very misleading, as they have played what Penn coach John Cole called a "top-15" schedule thus far. Harvard has faced four teams ranked in the top 20 - Wichita State, UC Irvine, San Diego and Long Beach State - and its only victory came against Lafayette.
The fact that the Crimson split against the Leopards, who narrowly defeated the Quakers 10 days ago, suggests that Saturday's doubleheader could be an evenly-matched one.
"Don't read into their record," Cole said. "They'll be very good; I'm not underestimating them at all."
Cole said that senior captain Matt Vance is the Crimson's most dangerous player; the two-time Ivy first-teamer can play infield or outfield and may be Harvard's best athlete. Not only is he a capable base-stealer (leading the team with seven swipes), but he is also Harvard's most accomplished power hitter, with team-best totals of three homers and 13 runs batted in.
Protecting him in the lineup will be right fielder and cleanup man Tom Stack-Babich, who is hitting a team-best .429.
The Big Green, meanwhile, are much improved from last year, as they boast four everyday players with batting averages over .370. Dartmouth recently put together a seven-game win streak, due in no small part to its sluggers.
Damon Wright and Michael Pagliarulo are hitting .438 and .426, respectively, and have four homers apiece. Roth, however, cited Nick Santomauro as one of the Big Green's best hitters - the two played summer league ball together.
Roth knows that if Santomauro, who hit cleanup last year, isn't the team's biggest threat, Penn will have a lot on its plate.
"Last year I remember Dartmouth being a pretty young team," Roth said. "Apparently they got a lot better."
The Big Green also have a reasonably effective one-two punch at the top of their rotation - Texan brothers Russell and Robert Young. The Youngs have a combined ERA of 4.04, and have logged more than one-third of Dartmouth's total innings pitched.
As the season slowly chugs along, Cole has seemed to be settling on his own rotation, too. He said that along with Roth, freshmen righthanders Paul Cusick, Jeremy Maas and Sam Gilbert all figure to make starts.
"How we dice them up, I'm not sure yet," he said.
But as the Quakers watch the skies and see how their weekend schedule plays out, Cole will have to plan his matchups on the fly. And along with the long ride, a cramped bus and two tough teams waiting, this uncertainty is just the icing on the cake, according to Cole.
"It could be a pain in the butt."
