david bernstein

This just doesn't feel quite right. These senior columns are supposed to fit in with the whole graduation motif - you know, moving onto bigger and better things, reflecting on our time spent in the best damned windowless office on campus. It's our way of saying thanks to the paper, and the paper's way of thanking us.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of comeback. And truth be told, it very well could have happened twice in one day. Down 10-0 going in to the seventh and final inning of its opener against Lehigh yesterday, Penn looked to be done for. The Quakers were being no-hit by Cory Kent and Jordan Warncke, and only one runner had reached base.

In what has been a season of close losses, disheartening Ivy weekends and unfulfilled expectations, Penn baseball had one last chance to salvage a shot at the Gehrig Division with two doubleheaders against Princeton this weekend. But by the time the Quakers notched a win in the last of their four-game set, it was too late.

The Quakers will have plenty to think about on their lengthy bus trip up to Ithaca, N.Y. this weekend. As they trudge northward on the way to a pair of doubleheaders against Cornell, they will no doubt be wondering how they can lift themselves from the rut they are in - the one that has seen them fall to 0-8 in the Ivy League.

The hole just keeps getting deeper for the baseball team. After dropping doubleheaders on the road to Brown and Yale this weekend, Penn has lost nine games in a row and remains winless in the Ivy League. Coach John Cole and the team did not make themselves available for comment.

It's almost hard to take him seriously, this skinny fellow in pink and turquoise spandex. He is shirtless, his hair is spiked with gel and he boldly claims to hail from "the projects of Neverland Ranch." But in the South Philly venue known simply as "The Arena" - a hotbed of that blue-collar, indulgent but damn-if-it-ain't-entertaining art form known as professional wrestling - the man called Pinkie Sanchez takes a tone that belies his flamboyant persona.

Penn baseball's early-season play has been one of mixed success. The young guys have played beyond their years, but the lack of veterans has sometimes been apparent. The starting pitching has been rock-solid, but the bullpen has been erratic. The defense was shaky early on, but it has started to come around.

At its best, Penn baseball is a team with hitters who can knock the ball out of the park and pitchers with special stuff. At their worst, the Quakers are an immature team prone to inconsistency at the plate and on the mound. During its first four-game series of the season, both sides showed up.

Welcome to college baseball, boys. Shortstop Derek Vigoa and pitcher Chris McNulty have officially been collegiate athletes for under a month, but they played beyond their years yesterday, leading Penn to an 11-6 win over Temple in Ambler, Pa. Vigoa went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI bunt single, keeping the Quakers' offensive outburst rolling.

By DAVID BERNSTEIN Senior Staff Writer bernstein@dailypennsylvanian.com A year ago, on Penn's spring break trip to Florida, Jeremy Maas was learning the ropes as a rookie pitcher. He was getting on-the-job experience, adjusting to the speed of the college game and trying to win a spot in the Quakers' rotation.