Penn leads off at home with a hit

During the top of the eighth inning, Penn pitcher Reid Terry found himself in a major-league jam.

With no outs, Temple had the bases loaded, trailing the Quakers by just four runs.

But the righty hurler refused to let the pressure get to him, retiring the next two batters emphatically striking out the third to solidify a Quakers victory.

That would turn out to be the Owls biggest threat, as Penn was victorious in its home opener yesterday by a final score of 12-6.

The Quakers’ bats were on fire from the first pitch onward, as they scored eight runs in the first four innings.

Penn (3-5) recorded 12 runs overall on 11 hits. The team boosted its overall batting average to .287, though Coach John Cole still feels that the Quakers have room for improvement.

“We have some guys who aren’t swinging as well as they want to,” Cole said. “We got some depth, and we just need to be more consistent, especially in the middle of the order. We got to start getting some guys hot.”

Dan Williams was on fire, going 2-for-3 with two home runs and four runs batted in. The junior third baseman is now batting .367 for the season.

“I just try to put a good swing on the ball, trying to hit it hard in the gap somewhere,” Williams said. “On a day like [yesterday] when the ball is carrying well, all I had to do was hit the ball high in the air, and it had a good chance of leaving the park.”

Still, pitching has been a weakness for the Quakers in the opening weeks of their 2009-10 campaign. On last week’s Florida trip, the team gave up 70 runs over seven games, though the pitching improved as the week progressed.

In yesterday’s contest, Cole went with nine different arms, none of whom threw more than 25 pitches. According to Williams, the frequent replacements on the mound were a departure from the pitching strategy Penn plans to use during its weekend games, when it will have its starters “go deep into games.”

Though the pitching staff showed progress from last week, Cole believes the team has room for further growth on the mound.

“We got some balls up early, which was disappointing,” he said. “[Temple is] a free swinging team, and if you make mistakes up, they’ll hurt you.”

Still, with seven seniors on the roster compared to only one last season, this year’s Penn squad benefitted from its experience.

“It’s a lot easier to run a game when the players know what to do, and you know what you’re going to get from them,” Cole said.

The returning members of the team will try to use experience to their advantage when the Quakers will host Mt. St. Mary’s this weekend for three games, a doubleheader Saturday and another game Sunday-. The series will provide an opportunity for Penn to get over the .500 mark as the Ivy League season approaches.

“We got a big two weeks to get ready for league play, so we need to play better,” Cole said.

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