DP Sports Player of the Week: Sean Phelan

Early into the spring, it seems as if Penn baseball’s offense has undergone an impressive one-year transformation. It’s no surprise to see Sean Phelan leading the way.

The senior first baseman has been a consistent hitter throughout his career at Penn, sporting a batting average of .282 over his first three seasons. In an offense that was starved of scoring last season, Phelan provided solid production from the middle of the lineup.

So far this season, he’s taking it to another level. 

In the three-game set against Harvard over the weekend, the Quakers' bats put up 31 runs, of which Phelan knocked in seven. This brings his RBI total on the year to 22 to go along with his team-leading .408 batting average.

Phelan’s power was on full display in the first game of the series, as he bashed a home run and a double in a four-hit effort. Power is perhaps Phelan’s biggest strength as a hitter, and the numbers back it up. Currently slugging .704, he’s no stranger to slapping extra-base hits.

While Phelan has been a fixture for the Red and Blue since his freshman year, he has yet to experience this high level of support around him. The team as a whole is averaging close to 10 runs per game, and an infusion of extra power hitters into the lineup in freshmen Craig Larsen and Josh Hood has taken some of the pressure off Phelan.

The numbers that Phelan has been putting up may not seem sustainable, but with consistent hitting in front of him at the top of the lineup, he has all the support necessary to have an all-time season. 

While dropping the opening conference series of the season may not have been the ideal result for the Quakers, there are plenty of reasons for optimism, and Phelan is one of the strongest.