Down a run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, struggling catcher Mike Mariano took a moment to himself before he stepped to the plate.
“I was standing in the on-deck circle thinking about how many outs I’ve made this weekend,” Mariano said, “and just knowing if I can come through here, that none of that would matter. I really didn’t want to have to look at [my teammates] knowing I could have done something else.”
The junior exited the batter’s box a hero, bringing in a run on a go-ahead double. The hit catalyzed a previously dormant offensive attack, as the Quakers strung together seven straight base runners — plating five — en route to a 12-4 victory over Yale at Meiklejohn Stadium yesterday.
The late rally emphatically put to bed the notion that Penn could not come up big with the chips stacked against them.
“We showed a lot of character being down in two ballgames, fighting back and then really putting the foot on the accelerator at the end of the week,” Penn coach John Cole said.
The win capped off a very successful home stand for a surging Penn squad that split its doubleheader with Brown (4-15, 2-2 Ivy) on Saturday and swept Yale (11-10-1, 0-4) yesterday.
Perhaps most impressive for the Penn offense were the key contributions at the top and bottom of the lineup. The Red and Blue (12-10, 3-1), also flexed some serious muscle over the weekend, blasting six home runs.
“I thought Will Davis picked himself up the whole weekend and did a nice job,” Cole said. “Tommy Grandieri had a big weekend, and it was nice to see Mariano and [Will] Gordon pick up two key hits with runners in scoring position.”
Grandieri might have had the best series of all, hitting .533 with two homers and six runs batted in. He left the final Yale game as Penn’s overall leader in runs batted in (19) and total bases (56), and remains tied for the hits lead with 34.
“[I’m] just trying to keep my feet still and let my hands do the work because I’ve previously been lunging at the ball,” Grandieri said. “It worked out this weekend, and I hope to build on it.”
Though the pitching staff struggled a bit over the four games, Cole mentioned he was especially pleased with the performance of reliever Reid Terry. The senior induced a crucial double play ball in the first game Sunday, and picked up the win with a scoreless seventh inning in the nightcap.
When the ball did get to closer Trey Jennings in the eighth however, tensions began to rise along with the mid-afternoon temperature.
With the game now well out of hand, Yale coach John Stuper became heated after a few high and tight pitches from Jennings causing him to exchange a few testy words with Cole along the third base line. Once the dust settled and Cole returned to the dugout, tempers seemed to cool until the final pitch of the ninth.
After Jennings induced a game-ending ground out, the Bulldogs head coach began to scream even more vociferously than before. He remained inconsolable afterwards, refusing to shake hands with the Quakers, even trading barbs with Penn fans seated near the Yale dugout.
“He was just a little frustrated on his weekend,” Cole said. “They’ve got a good club, things didn’t go their way, and I think that was a little out of character for him.”
Though the Red and Blue were able to keep their cool during the altercation, it will take more than composure to continue mowing down Ivy League competition.
“As a team we need to be a lot more consistent,” Mariano said. “3-1 doesn’t mean much right now if we don’t pick up another three and another three and another three. We’ve got a chance to do something special and this is a good start.”
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