The Penn baseball team took another big step toward an Ivy League championship this weekend, winning three of four games on the road against Red Rolfe Division opponents.
The Quakers split their Saturday twin-bill at Yale -- which included senior Nick Italiano passing Glen Ambrosius for first all-time on Penn's career hits list -- and swept yesterday's against Brown to preserve their place atop the standings in the Lou Gehrig Division.
Penn is now 17-11 overall, having won five of their last six games. They are 9-3 in the league, and hold a slim advantage over defending division champion Princeton.
The Tigers swept Yale yesterday, moving to 5-1 in the Ivy League. They will make up two canceled games at Harvard this afternoon.
"We need Harvard to help us out [today]," Penn coach Bob Seddon said.
In Saturday's opener, the Elis jumped out to a four-run lead behind some early offensive fireworks. Senior Chris Elkins slammed a solo shot off junior Russ Brocato with two outs in the bottom of the first. Junior Randy Leonard followed with a three-run homer in the next.
Timely hitting by senior Steve Glass and junior Jon Slaughter got the Quakers back within a run, but the bottom of the Yale lineup answered with a big inning of its own.
Glass, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week, helped the Penn cause and smacked his second home run of the season.
The Elis notched an insurance run off sophomore reliever Josh Appell, who replaced Brocato in the fourth inning, to close out the scoring in the 8-4 victory.
The Quakers exacted revenge in the rematch, salvaging the split with a 7-2 victory. Senior hurler Ben Krantz scattered four hits over eight innings, striking out six and earning his second consecutive Ivy League victory. Italiano went 3-for-4 in the winning effort, while moving into first place among Penn's all-time hit leaders.
"We did a great job," Seddon said. "We hit the ball when we needed to hit the ball."
Against Brown, a team jockeying with defending champion Harvard for the Rolfe Division crown, Penn played some of its best ball of the season. The Bears, who lost division crowns via one-game playoffs in 2001 and 2002, looked flat against the Quakers -- a team with championship aspirations of its own.
McCreery, a co-captain in his final season with the Red and Blue, tossed a complete game six-hitter in the opener. The righthander helped his own cause at the plate, going 4-for-4 with five runs batted in, while smacking his team-leading fifth home run. The 7-4 victory was McCreery's third win in as many starts.
Penn took the nightcap, 16-8. Every batter in the starting lineup, save for ninth-hitting freshman centerfielder Coba Canales, crossed the plate in the rout. Sophomore Nate Moffie went 3-for-6, including a first-inning grand slam. Italiano added a three-run home run.
"It's really important to win a weekend," McCreery said. "That's what we try to do every time. Whenever we can go 4-0 or 3-1, we're really happy on the way home."
In the Penn camp now, all eyes turn to the rival Tigers.
"We were definitely not trying to look ahead [going into this weekend]," McCreery said. "But now that it's over, we're definitely looking forward to it. We did get swept last year by them."
The Quakers feel good about where they stand as they prepare for the homestretch -- and a chance to secure their first Ancient Eight title since 1995.
"Next weekend's going to be it," Seddon said "You've got to beat them."
The first of two doubleheaders against Princeton begins on Friday at noon and will be broadcast on CN8. Saturday's action starts at noon as well.
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