Catcher has become the rock behind Penn’s plate

It almost sounds like a Chuck Norris joke: Will Davis can run through walls.

“Two summers ago, I was going to catch a pop-up, and next thing I knew, I was running into a brick wall,” Penn’s senior catcher said. “Good thing I had my chest protector.”

Davis’s toughness has been much needed this year. Due to injuries to his fellow catchers, Davis has been behind the plate for all but nine innings through 23 games, sitting out just one game due to injury.

“He’s a warrior,” coach John Cole said. “It’s his senior year, and sometimes you have to ask guys to do a little bit more.”

Indeed, in his senior campaign, Davis has stepped up in a big way. Most recently, his bat carried the Quakers (13-10, 4-0 Ivy) to a 14-10 win over defending champion Dartmouth, as the catcher slugged his second and third home runs of the season.

“It’s definitely been tough, but I’ve spent a lot of time during the week with the trainers, trying to stay healthy,” Davis said.

Handling such a heavy workload is old-hat as he is in his fourth year of starting.

“Two years ago during the summer, I played on a team where the starting catcher quit, and the other back-up got injured,” Davis said. “I’m used to it.”

However, the structure of the Quakers’ weekend games has forced Davis to catch four games over the weekend three times this season. Due to the rigorous schedule, he has to come prepared.

“It’s definitely tough,” Davis said. “I drink a lot of water, and I save a Snickers bar for in between games.”

In addition to his recognition of the steps he must take to catch that many innings over the course of a weekend, Davis is also well acquainted with the pitching staff.

“Will’s been my catcher for four years,” senior pitcher Paul Cusick said. “It helps a lot to have someone you trust behind the plate.”

With Davis as their backstop, Penn’s starters have posted a 3.47 ERA through 153 innings.

“Having a three-year starter back there gives you the experience that lets pitchers know that he knows them,” Cole said.

While Davis has experience on his side, fatigue may be settling in. Through 22 games, he’s already committed nine errors this year, more than he totaled all of last season.

In addition, opposing runners are stealing bases at a significantly higher rate, succeeding 82.5 percent of the time. Last year, Davis held opponents to a 63 percent success rate.

Since Cole doesn’t know how much longer Davis will be on his own, the senior catcher will have to continue playing through the fatigue.

“I’m expecting him to rise to the occasion,” Cole said. “He knows what’s at stake.”

This weekend, the Quakers will try their luck against Yale (13-10, 2-2) and Brown (3-17, 1-3), with who else but Davis behind the plate.

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