Three up, three down: Penn baseball vs. St. Joe's

But the Quakers still have plenty of work left to do. Before four games against Cornell this upcoming weekend, the Red and Blue (15-10, 8-0 Ivy) take a break to host St. Joseph’s (15-9) on Tuesday in the second round of the Liberty Bell Classic. Let’s take a look at who’s up and who’s down entering the matinee.

Three Up

Rick Brebner: The senior from Langhorne, Pa., is certainly anything but boring. A season after the outfielder finished tied for the team lead in home runs, Brebner has picked up right where he left off — although arguably with even more success in 2014. Playing on a team that packs quite a bit of pop at the plate, Brebner has led the charge of Penn’s home run crusade. In 25 games, the veteran has smacked seven homers and piled on 25 RBI. Brebner’s seven bombs account for slightly more than 10 percent of the home runs hit by the entire Ivy League this year, as the conference’s eight teams have combined for 69 homers overall.

The Quakers on the mound: Everyone knows Connor Cuff is a star on the rubber. But the way Cuff has been neutralizing opponents this season is downright impressive. The junior righty leads the Ivies with a 1.12 ERA and is tied for second with three wins. But juniors Dan Gautieri and Ronnie Glenn and freshman Jake Cousins have all been on top of their games as well this season, combining for a 7-5 record in 14 starts.

Brian O’Keefe: St. Joe’s junior catcher leads the Hawks with a .363 batting average and four home runs and is second on the team with 23 RBI. The Hawks star behind the plate has also generated 13 walks this year, and his .431 on-base percentage is third-best on the team. The Albany, N.Y., native was named Atlantic-10 Player of the Week after last weekend’s series in which he hit .857 and scored seven runs against St. Bonaventure.

Three Down

St. Joe’s on the road: While the Quakers may be the ones getting most of the spotlight right now, the Hawks have had their fair share of success this season. St. Joe’s has won seven of its past 10 games, and currently sits in fourth place in the A-10 after dropping two of three to VCU over the weekend. But the Hawks have struggled on the road, losing five of nine contests away from Smithson Field, and are looking to rebound against Penn at Meiklejohn Stadium.

Penn’s schedule: The past week has been packed for the Quakers. After Penn’s first two Ivy doubleheaders had to be pushed back to March 31 and April 1, respectively, due to rain, the Quakers played five games in a three-day period, including a win over Lafayette to advance in the Liberty Bell Classic. Throw in Penn’s four games against Harvard and Dartmouth, plus Tuesday’s game against St. Joe’s and Wednesday’s matchup with Saint Peter’s, and the Red and Blue will have taken the field 11 times in 10 days.

K’s everywhere: The Hawks are a solid hitting team, as evidenced by their .285 batting average that ranks second in the A-10. But St. Joe’s also strikes out quite a bit — the squad has fanned 170 times this year, 18 more times than its opponents and 11 more times than Penn, a team that has already played one more game.