Throughout the course of the season, the performance of the starting pitching rotation has made the difference for the Quakers.
This weekend’s games against Ivy League opponent Cornell proved to be no different.
In Saturday’s doubleheader, both starting pitchers went the distance, as Penn cruised to two easy victories. On Sunday, however, the next two starters struggled and the Quakers came out winless.
Sophomore Vince Voiro pitched his team-leading third complete effort in game one on Saturday, improving his earned run average to a team-best 4.15. Senior captain Todd Roth followed with an equally impressive performance in the nightcap, yielding just two earned runs in nine innings of work.
Meanwhile, the batting order held up its end of the bargain, putting up 29 runs over the course of the two games. Junior Dan Williams went 6-for-7 on the day with five runs batted in. Jeremy Maas led the team with five runs scored between both games.
Following the two blowout victories, the Red and Blue sat at 6-4 — just two games behind first place Columbia.
However, Penn (16-16, 6-6 Ivy) could not mirror Saturday’s pitching outings the following day.
Sophomore Chris McNulty was pulled in the fifth after allowing seven runs (five earned) in one of his rougher starts of the year.
The Quakers trailed by seven when some late-game heroics kicked in. Penn manufactured a few runs in the bottom of the sixth before catcher Will Davis approached the plate with two outs and the Quakers down four.
On a two-strike pitch, Davis hit a bomb over the right-center field fence, tying the game with a grand slam.
This seven-inning game went to extra innings, where it was up to senior pitcher Reid Terry to keep Penn in the game.
Terry pulled his own weight posting two scoreless innings. However, he allowed a run in the ninth and the Penn batters were unable to get it back as the Big Red emerged victorious.
In yesterday’s second game, starter Paul Cusick lasted just 1.2 innings before being pulled out the game in favor of reliever Trey Jennings. The Quakers were down 6-0 after the top of the third and the deficit grew to 11-3 after the sixth.
As far as the Ivy League standings in the Gehrig Division, the Quakers are down but not out. Penn sits in second place, three games behind the top-ranked Lions.
The Quakers still have time to catch Columbia, as the team will face last place Princeton in two doubleheaders next weekend before a four-game set against the Lions on April 30.
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