Baseball will look past Lehigh's woeful record

Believers in momentum, that mysterious intangible that athletes and coaches love to harp on, could claim that the Penn baseball team is nearly guaranteed a win today after a clutch sweep of Cornell this weekend.

But if the Quakers' tendencies this season are any indicator, today's contest against Lehigh (11-22-1, 1-11 Patriot) will not be a cakewalk, even with Penn riding the boost of two division wins.

"We need to do a better job mid-week," coach John Cole said. "We've been struggling the last couple Tuesdays, not doing so well following up good weekends.

"So I think they're aware of it and we need to come out [today] ready to play."

With a 2-3 record coming off of weekend play since spring break, Penn (15-14, 9-5 Ivy) will look to break even in its last opportunity. And the Mountain Hawks, who sit squarely in last place in the Patriot standings, are about as good a team as any for the Quakers to do it against.

Lehigh did advance to the Liberty Bell Classic final, a feat that eluded Penn, and has fared well against common opponents. But its abysmal conference record is difficult to ignore.

While Cole said his team didn't plan on preparing for its opponent until yesterday, the Mountain Hawks did manage a season split with Penn last year, and have a few tricks up their sleeve that concern Cole.

"They're well-coached, they pitch, they throw strikes, they play small ball very well," he said. "We need to pitch well this week and . we need to step up mid-week and provide some offensive firepower."

The small-ball approach that Cole referred to can be seen in the fact that Lehigh has laid down a whopping 28 bunts this season, almost twice as many as Penn. And with leadoff man Joe Ercolano and infielder Stephen Salemme providing speed on the bases with 11 steals apiece, the Mountain Hawks' offense could pester a Penn defense that has been error-prone at times this season.

With the typical weekday committee of hurlers on display for both teams today, Penn will have to contend with Lehigh's healthy contingent of efficient relievers, which is led by Greg Mortka, the team's only multi-win pitcher and a leader in earned run average with a mark of 4.56.

But for those who believe in that old "M" word, the pitching matchups, the conference records and the tendency for mid-week disappointment will be of little importance tomorrow.

According to Penn first baseman Kyle Armeny, it's more about what the Quakers did this past weekend.

"It can only help going into the game with a little bit of a winning streak going," Armeny said. "We're just going to try to keep it rolling and keep up positive momentum going."

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