Just one game ahead, baseball hosts Penn in critical Easter weekend series

With Penn coming to town today and eight games left in the Ivy League season, it is do-or-die time for baseball.

"Neither one of us can afford to have a bad weekend," head coach Scott Bradley said. "So when you sit down and look at it, this weekend is almost like a championship series."

If Penn — currently one game behind Princeton in the Gehrig division standings — can come to New Jersey this weekend and win the four-game series, Easter weekend would mark the resurrection of a Quaker team that finished 9-28 overall in 1999.

Last year when baseball went to Philadelphia over Easter weekend to take on Penn, there was very little drama in the outcome. Princeton took all four games with relative ease, cementing both its place at the top and Penn's place at the bottom of the Gehrig Division.

This year is entirely different. Penn (18-14 overall, 7-5 Ivy League) is hitting .322, compared to .277 last year. Nine players on the Quakers who have appeared in at least 18 games are hitting above .300.

The Quakers returned 19 players from last year's team, including senior captains shortstop Glen Ambrosius and outfielder Kevin McCabe.

Ambrosius, a second-team All-Ivy selection and team MVP, led the team last year in hits (43), batting average (.331), runs scored (28) and doubles (11). In 32 games this year, Ambrosius has already equalled his hit total from last season and improved his average to .347.

McCabe, the team's most improved player in 1999, has continued to excel in 2000. He is hitting .371 with 46 hits and 23 RBI.

Mending the mound

Penn has repaired its glaring weakness of a season ago — pitching. Last season the Quakers' staff had a combined ERA of 6.70, compared to a 3.61 mark for their opponents. This season is almost a complete reversal — Penn pitchers have an ERA of 5.87 while its opponents are at 7.54.

Sophomore Mike Mattern has been the Quakers' workhorse this season. Against Cornell last weekend Mattern was virtually untouchable, allowing just an opposite field single in the sixth inning. He struck out eight for his first career shutout and second consecutive complete game.

This year, Penn's numbers compare favorably with Princeton's. The Tigers are hitting .300 with a staff ERA of 6.03. The Tigers (15-14, 8-4) have been on a tear recently, however, winning seven of their last eight games.

"We've played very well, we've improved as the year has gone on," Bradley said. "Some of the things I was worried about early on in the season have turned out well."

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The Tigers' bats have performed especially well lately. In a four-game sweep of Columbia last weekend, Princeton exploded for 45 runs. Junior first baseman Andrew Hanson was named Ivy League Player of the Week for his record-setting offensive performance against the Lions, in which he posted 16 total bases.

"Hanson and [Max] Krance have proved that they are probably two of the better hitters in the league," Bradley said. "And having two left-handers in the middle of our lineup, especially the way they've been hitting, has really propelled us to win some games."

The pitching has been improving as well. The Tigers' team ERA is misleading, as all four starters have been solid. Sophomore Chris Young, who will pitch the first game Friday, leads the team with a 0.90 ERA.

"Our pitching and defense has kept us in games," Bradley said. "And now that our offense has really started to swing the bats, we have a chance to have some easy wins like we did last weekend."