Baseball hopes chemistry overcomes accounting

While accounting has been known to be a thorn in the side of many a Wharton student, rarely does it have the same effect on the Penn baseball team. But when the Quakers travel to West Chester today to lock horns with the Rams at 3:30 p.m., they will feel the strain of the subject firsthand. Sophomore shortstop Mark DeRosa will be back on campus taking an accounting exam. "If it were a weekend game it might be different," Penn coach Bob Seddon said of DeRosa's conflict. "But for a midweek game it isn't worth fighting with a professor about it." The break will also give DeRosa a chance to rest the ailing shoulder that has relegated him to designated hitting duty since the Quakers' spring break trip to Florida. "We'll see how he is Wednesday," Seddon said. "He'll have four days to get healthy for the start of the Ivy League this weekend." Seddon meanwhile will be fiddling with a different subject -- chemistry. "We're going to experiment a little bit against West Chester," Seddon said. "We're trying to get the best nine players on the field without disrupting our defense." Junior catcher Rick Burt, who returned from a strained hamstring just last weekend against La Salle, will only see mop-up duty against West Chester as freshman David Corleto opens the game behind the plate. Freshman Joe Carlon will fill in at shortstop. But the most surprising face for the Quakers (6-8) will be in left field, where freshman Armen Simonian is slated to start. Simonian, listed as a pitcher in the media guide, has seen most of his action on the mound this year -- although he is 4 for 8 with two doubles at the plate this season. "He doesn't even know he's going to start," Seddon said. "But he's been playing real well lately and he deserves it." Seddon can afford to take certain experimental liberties against the Rams (2-7), who are extremely young and in the midst of a transition period. "In 13 years of coaching, this is the first time I ever went into a season without having any expectations," said West Chester coach Jack Hopkins, who only took over the program in December. "I didn't get a chance to see the guys on the baseball field until their first game. We've just been working to get the lineup and rotation set, and just get a little more comfortable." If the Rams have a strength, it's in their bats -- which should give Penn senior righthander Lance Berger (0-2, 2.70 ERA) a chance to work four or five quality innings before the Quakers open their Ivy League season this weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth. "We need to get Lance some work," Seddon said. "He pitched a real strong game against Rollins a couple weeks ago, but was a little wild in relief." "Some of our guys were a little disappointed after the second La Salle game over the weekend [which Penn lost 4-0]," Seddon continued. "They felt they might have gotten a little overconfident. I would hope they put together a good effort today." By all accounts, that is exactly what should happen.

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