DURHAM, N.C. – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team earned a midweek sweep over Duke after a two-run ninth inning put the Quakers ahead.

Craig Larsen knocked in the go-ahead run and Tommy Courtney plated him on the following at-bat to give the Quakers some cushion. Kevin Eaise pitched two shutout innings to earn his first collegiate win.

PENN 3, DUKE 1
WP: Kevin Eaise (1-0)
LP: Matt Dockman (1-1)
SV: Robby Cerulle (1)

NOTES
*Josh Sidney made his second start of the season. He pitched six innings, allowed one run on five hits, and struck out one.

*The Quakers have been tied going into the bottom of the eighth in all five of their games this season.

*Freshman Craig Larsen tallied his first collegiate RBI to tie the game in the fifth inning, then got a second to put Penn in front.

*Larsen had one hit in three appearances entering the game, but went 3-for-4 in the series finale against Duke

*Freshman Eaise earned his first collegiate win after pitching two scoreless frames in relief. He allowed just one hit and struck out one batter.

*Cerulle earned his first collegiate save, striking out the final Duke batter with two outs and runners on first and second.

*Penn has four batters with an average of .300 or better. Adams leads the team hitting .375, followed by Sean Phelan (.364), Tommy Courtney (.318) and Matt O'Neill (.300).

*O'Neill picked off two Duke baserunners in the series finale. He has three on the season.

*Courtney tallied two RBIs in two games against Duke. The first was the game-winner in extra innings, and the second came in the top of the ninth to cushion the Quakers' lead.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Duke opened the scoring with a two-out RBI single up the left side in the bottom of the third. A scoreless inning followed as both sides failed to register a hit.

Penn put one on the board in the fifth. Matt McGeagh got on first after an infield error and reached second on a sacrifice bunt. Larsen then singled into left field, advancing McGeagh around third and home to tie it.

Following the tying run, Penn pitchers stunted the Duke offense. From the fifth inning on, the Quakers allowed just four hits, all of them singles.

Penn's offense, however, had trouble getting started as well. From the sixth through the eighth inning, the Red and Blue registered one hit and went three up/three down twice.

The bats got going when the Quakers needed them to, though. McGeagh started the ninth inning by beating the throw to first for an infield single. Christian Walton then tapped a ball to the pitcher on a check swing, sending McGeagh to second and getting thrown out at first.

With two outs, Larsen doubled past the shortstop into left field. McGeagh rounded third and appeared to be beaten by the throw, but the catcher could not hang on and Penn took the lead. On the following at-bat, Courtney singled deep to left center to bring Larsen home and extend the lead to 3-1.

Cerulle came on to pitch and got a quick out after a leadoff popout to Malinowski at second. Two consecutive Duke singles put runners on first and second, but another popout to Malinowski eased some of the pressure. The final batter struck out swinging to give the Quakers their first series sweep of the season.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Quakers head south to the Palmetto state for a weekend series with Winthrop, with game one scheduled to start on Friday, March 8 at 6 p.m.