Baseball ties due to darkness in the 15th

Thirty-four hits. Thirty-four players. Twenty-three strikeouts. Twenty runs. Fifteen walks. Fifteen innings. Tired yet? The Penn baseball team certainly is. Down by six runs heading into the ninth inning yesterday at West Chester, the Quakers exploded to send the game into extra innings -- many extra. Six tense frames later, with the scoreboard still stuck on 10-10, the consolation game in the Liberty Bell Classic was called due to darkness. "Where do I start?" Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "I can't begin to describe how many times this game should have been won by both teams." As Seddon suggests, both the Quakers (12-5-1) and the Rams (5-8-1) had numerous chances to win. It was Penn that jumped out to the early lead, as senior co-captain Tim Shannon drove in two runs with a single in the top of the third inning. West Chester responded quickly in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded, left fielder Craig Sweeney hit a deep fly ball to right. Quaker junior Ray Esquieres lost the ball in the bright spring sun, scoring all three Ram runners. The third inning was neither the first nor the last time the sun played a part in the 15-inning marathon. "Right field and center field were directly in the sun through the entire game," Seddon said. "It might have been the biggest factor in the game. We couldn't see the ball off the bat." Two innings after their three-run burst, the Rams tacked on three more. Four West Chester hits sandwiched around a passed ball by Quaker backstop Rick Burt knocked Penn starting pitcher Mike Shannon out of the game. Shannon allowed a total of nine hits and six earned runs in his six innings of work, but was hurt statistically by merciless scoring decisions. "He pitched better than that," Seddon said. "Only one of his runs was earned in our minds?.That was the poorest field we've played on this year." Freshman southpaw Mike Greenwood replaced Shannon, and pitched well for two innings. After inducing the first two Ram batters of the eighth to ground out, however, Greenwood walked West Chester pitcher Mike Krautzel and allowed consecutive hits to make the score 8-4 in favor of the Rams. Following an error by Penn second baseman Derek Nemeth, West Chester second baseman Shane Kenney doubled for one of his four hits on the day. Entering the ninth inning, the Rams held an apparently safe 10-4 lead. West Chester's advantage was not safe for long, though. To begin the Quaker ninth inning, a base on balls, two hits and an error scored one Penn run and left the bases loaded. After replacing Krautzel, Ram pitcher Todd Zarzecki began his short stint by allowing a sacrifice fly to Quaker third baseman Rob Naddelman. Following Naddelman's shot, Zarzecki threw a wild pitch and gave up singles to Penn's Allen Fischer and Jeremy Milken. With the score 10-8 in favor of the Rams, West Chester ace Chuck Fritz entered the game to attempt to quell the Quaker rally. Fritz was unable to stop Penn's momentum entirely, as Burt eventually tied the game on a sacrifice fly scoring Dan McCarthy. From then on, though, Fritz pitched well, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out six over the rest of the game. "We would have handled anyone else they brought in," Seddon said. "Their relief pitchers blew the game for them. The difference in the game was Chuck Fritz." Fritz's performance was nearly equalled by that of Quaker freshman reliever Alex Hayden. Like Fritz, Hayden entered the game in the ninth inning. Like Fritz, Hayden pitched scoreless baseball until the sun set on his remarkable game. Hayden's work was complemented by that of battery-mate Burt, who caught all 15 innings and called all of the pitches through the entire game as well. At the plate, meanwhile, Tim Shannon led the way for the Quakers, going 4 for 6 in the designated hitter slot while driving in three runs, drawing a walk and stealing a base. The six extra innings were thrilling ones for both teams. Penn had baserunners in every inning but the 11th, while West Chester had runners in every frame except the 12th. Adding to the drama were a number of close plays. Quaker center fielder Tim Henwood threw out two Ram runners at the plate in extra innings, and in West Chester's 14th inning, Kenney hit a double that fell just short of a home run. The result, meanwhile, fell just short of climactic, as the 15 innings of tension were ended unceremoniously by darkness. The four hour, 15 minute game was the longest in Serpico Stadium history and the longest Penn contest in Seddon's recent memory. There will be little rest for Penn, though, following its marathon matchup. The Quakers take the field again today at 3 p.m. at Bower Field against St. Peter's. The Peacocks are just 4-9, but have played a difficult schedule and can boast of a number of quality pitchers and skilled athletes. Hopefully for Penn, St. Peter's is coming ready to play -- and ready to leave quickly.

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