It was his first season, first start, and first accolade.
On Monday, freshman pitcher Sebastian Haggard began his Penn career on a high note, bringing home the season’s first Ivy League Rookie of the Week award after a stellar opening performance. Throwing in relief during the Red and Blue’s weekend game at Florida State, Haggard pitched 2.1 shutout innings and notched three strikeouts against the No. 9 Seminoles.
Though Penn was swept in the weekend series, Sunday’s 5-3 loss was the most competitive thanks in large part to Haggard and the rest of the Quaker bullpen. After falling behind 5-0 in the fourth inning, Penn (0-3) had its defense finally buckle down, blanking Florida State (7-0) the rest of the way. Haggard being on the mound proved to be the most significant factor in that stretch; he faced eight batters and allowed just one hit.
On the rest of the weekly award ballot, Cornell’s Kevin Hager and Carson Mayfield were named Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.
Prior to the season, coach John Yurkow expressed his confidence in the ability of Penn’s young players to step into the roles left by departed talent.
“You just have to trust that your process is really good,” Yurkow said. “The assistant coaches do a good job on the player development side … making sure those young players are ready to go when their turn comes.”
Haggard’s immediate contribution stands as an endorsement of Yurkow’s faith. After losing its top three leading pitchers from a season ago, Penn will have no shortage of unfamiliar faces in big-time roles taking the diamond. But if Haggard’s performance is any indication, the young Quakers are up to the task.
Penn faces off with another nationally ranked opponent this weekend, taking on No. 21 Troy in a three-game series from Friday to Sunday.
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