PHILADELPHIA – The homestand continues this weekend as the University of Pennsylvania baseball team hosts Lafayette for three games with a doubleheader Saturday and a single game on Sunday at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium.
 
First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. with a noon start time on Sunday.
 
The Quakers (5-8) have won two consecutive games after taking their home opener on Wednesday over Villanova, 8-3. The Leopards (2-13) are coming off a 7-6 victory at Richmond on Wednesday.
 
GAME 14-16: Penn (5-8, 0-0 Ivy) vs. Lafayette (2-13, 0-0 Patriot)
March 16-17 | Watch (ESPN+) – Game 1, Game 2, Game 3 | Live Stats – Game 1, Game 2, Game 3 | Program (PDF)
 
Home Cookin'
Penn emerged victorious in its third consecutive home opener on Wednesday, defeating Villanova, 8-3. The Quakers are now 33-10 at Tommy Lasorda Field over the last three seasons including 15-5 in 2023.
 
Rookie of the Week (Again)
Freshman infielder Nick Spaventa was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Monday for the second consecutive week. In a five-game week at Charleston Southern and College of Charleston, he batted .381 (8-for-21) with a home run, four RBI and five runs scored. On Wednesday, Spaventa went 2-for-4 at the plate with two doubles.
 
In 13 games, the rookie is ranked fourth in the Ivy League in batting average (.396), sixth in OPS (1.118) and leads the league in hits (21) with four home runs and 11 RBIs.
 
Three is a Magic Number
After recording his second straight game with three base hits, sophomore Ryan Taylor was Wednesday's Player of the Game after another strong performance against Villanova. The center fielder tallied four RBI including a game-winning bases-clearing triple in the fifth inning to help the Quakers get the win.
 
No Hits
After surrendering a three-run home run to begin the game Wednesday against Villanova, the pitching staff did its job limiting damage the rest of the way.
 
The combination of Jake Moss, Anthoni Kiafoulis, Thomas Shurtleff, and Eli Trop held the Wildcats without a hit for the final six frames.
 
At The Plate
Spaventa (.396), Connor Chavez (.367), and Davis Baker (.340) continue to lead the way for Penn hitters, all hitting above .300 through the season's first 13 games.
 
Spaventa has a team-high 21 hits, while Wyatt Henseler leads the team in both home runs (6) and RBI (14).
On The Mound
This weekend, we'll see the starting rotation of Cole Zaffiro (0-2, 8.31 ERA), Ryan Dromboski (0-2, 14.81) and John Cerwinski (0-1, 10.13) take the mound at home for the first time.
 
Reliever Carson Ozmer leads the time in both strikeouts (13) and ERA (0.96), while Trop has a team-high six appearances.
 
Returning All-Ivy
Led by 2023 Ivy League Coach of the Year John Yurkow, Penn has a returning major award winner in Dromboski. In 2023, he went 7-3 in 13 starts, recording an ERA of 3.32 with 97 strikeouts and just 35 walks en route to being named Ivy League Pitcher of the Year.
 
The Quakers also return six All-Ivy selections, Dromboski (first team), Henseler (first), Zaffiro (first), Baker (second), Ozmer (HM) and Jarrett Pokrovsky (HM).
 
Preseason Favorites
Penn was unanimously voted No. 1 in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, announced on Monday. The Quakers received all 16 first-place votes, leading to 128 points in a poll voted on by the league's sports information directors and one member of the media that covers each school.
 
Columbia was ranked second (101), Harvard in third (97), Princeton fourth (87), Yale fifth (66), Cornell sixth (37), with Brown (35) and Dartmouth (25) rounding out the field.
 
Scouting Lafayette
*It's been a difficult start to the year for Lafayette, despite strong competition throughout. The Leopards have dropped series against ETSU, Oregon, Wofford and a single game against Campbell last week. The three-game set at Penn kickstarts nine straight against PA/NJ opponents.
 
*The Leopards are coming off a 7-6 victory over the Spiders on Wednesday. Ethan Swidler homered twice as Lafayette bounced back from an early 5-0 deficit with four runs over the final three innings to pick up the win.
 
*Ben Petrone (.288) and Swidler (.256) lead the Leopards in batting this season, while Lafayette has a team average of .180 through the season's first 15 contests. Petrone leads the team in homers (4) while Swidler has a team-high 10 RBI.
 
*Lafayette pitching is giving up nearly 12 runs per game, while Joey Pence (1-0, 1.23 ERA) has been a bright spot in the bullpen over four appearances.
 
Series History
Penn leads the all-time series over Lafayette, 72-51-1. The Leopards have won the previous two meetings in 2022 and 2023. Prior to that, the Quakers had won eight straight since 2016.
 
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.