PHILADELPHIA – Closing out a four-game homestand on Wednesday afternoon, the University of Pennsylvania baseball team finally matches up with Saint Joseph's after a cancellation a couple weeks back in a 3 p.m. ballgame at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium.
 
The Quakers are coming off a down week, going 1-3 in four games including a series loss against second-place Cornell at home over the weekend. The Hawks dropped two of three games at Rhode Island over the weekend, a week removed from winning a three-game series against Saint Louis.
 
GAME 32: Penn (14-17, 6-6 Ivy) vs. Saint Joseph's (13-18, 4-5 A10)
April 17 | Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Program (PDF)
 
Non-Conference Update
Penn dropped its last pair of non-conference games after losing at Villanova, 5-3, last Wednesday afternoon in Plymouth Meeting.
 
Playing in their final non-conference home game of the season Wednesday against SJU, the Quakers are 8-11 in such games this season.
 
Bettered By Big Red
The Quakers finished up a 1-3 week after falling to Villanova last Wednesday and then dropping two out of three games against Ivy foe Cornell at Tommy Lasorda Field over the weekend.
 
Penn won the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader, 6-5, trailing 4-0 to open the contest and then battling all the way back to take the win. A two-run single for Jarrett Pokrovsky in the third gave the Quakers a slim lead and Wyatt Henseler effectively put the game out of reach with a solo homer in the fourth as Carson Ozmer did the rest of the work on the mound to earn the three-inning save.
 
Cornell took care of business in clinching the season series with an 18-11 slugfest win on Saturday and then an 11-9 victory on Sunday.
 
Henseler Milestone Watch
On the latest edition of the Henseler milestone watch, the senior third baseman has already entered the record books in all-time homers and RBIs as an Ivy Leaguer but is inching closer to one of the most prolific records in Penn baseball history.
 
On Saturday, his RBI double put him in an exclusive category, joining the 200-hit club and becoming just the third player in program history to reach the milestone. On Sunday, he passed Sean Phelan '19 for sole possession of second place and is three hits from tying, four from passing Dan Williams '11 (204) for the all-time lead.
 
He's also sitting at 47 career doubles, two from tying and three from setting the new program record. The current record (49) is held by Tom Grandieri (2008-10) and William Gordon (2007-10).
 
Team and Individual Highs
After leading the Ivy in batting average for most of the campaign, Penn is now slotted into second place in that category with a mark of .284. The Quakers lead the league in hits (307), is tied for the lead in triples (8), in on-base percentage (.388), and putouts (799).
 
Individually, Henseler leads the Ivy League in OPS (1.263) and is tied with Davis Baker and Harvard's Ben Rounds with an Ancient Eight-high 41 hits. Henseler has a vise grip on the Ivy's lead in home runs (15), total bases (96), and slugging percentage (.807).
 
At The Plate
*Henseler has officially taken over most of the team's leads in a variety of offensive categories including average (.345), OPS (1.263), runs scored (38), hits (41), homers (15), RBIs (37), total bases (96), slugging percentage (.807), hit-by-pitches (9), and on-base percentage (.456).
 
*Henseler, Nick Spaventa (.328), Ryan Taylor (.324), Carson Ozmer (.319), Asa Wilson (.314), and Davis Baker (.313) are all hitting above .300 at the plate as we head towards the homestretch of the regular season.
 
On The Mound
*Penn pitching is allowing nearly seven runs per game this season (6.99), with relievers Carson Ozmer (1-0, 2.70 ERA) and Eli Trop (2-2 (2.76) leading the charge out of the bullpen. Thomas Shurtleff (1-0, 4.12) has also been a serviceable arm out of the 'pen with 25 strikeouts and 10 walks over 19.2 innings of work and Will Tobin (0-2, 5.79), who hasn't allowed an earned run since March 30 at Columbia.
 
*Tobin has a 3.68 ERA in four Ivy League appearances this season, ranked fourth on the team.
 
*A combination of arms could make a start in the midweek game for the Quakers including Marty Coyne (0-0, 10.12), John Cerwinski (1-1, 10.06), and Noah Millikan (0-0, 3.60), who had an excellent outing at Villanova last Wednesday, tossing two shutout innings with four strikeouts and just two walks.
 
Scouting Saint Joseph's
*SJU enters the week with an overall record of 13-18 and an Atlantic 10 mark of 4-5. URI took two of three games from the Hawks in Kingston, R.I. over the weekend. That came after Saint Joseph's won a three-game series against Saint Louis April 5-7.
 
*Hitters are batting .266 as a team this season and are led by Conlan Wall (.352), Ryan Weingartner (.336), and Tom Dickinson (.320). Weingartner has a team-high seven home runs and 32 RBIs, while Wall has drawn 33 walks, good enough for 27th in the nation. Wall's OBP of .530 is 18th in the nation as well.
 
*Hawks pitching is giving up 6.56 runs per game this season, with relievers Alec Rodriguez (0-0, 2.74 ERA) and Matt McShane (2-2, 3.71) leading the team in earned-run average. Starter Will McCausland (1-4, 5.24) has 60 strikeouts and only 12 walks over 46.1 innings.
 
Series History
These two teams have played sparingly since the series started back in 1947. Penn holds a 34-29-1 advantage, including three straight since 2019.
 
Last season, the Quakers won a Liberty Bell Classic matchup at Smithson Field, 18-6. During that game, Asa Wilson was hit by a pitch in four separate plate appearances, the most for any Quaker in a single game since 2014.
 
Follow The Action
ESPN+ will carry the live stream of Wednesday's contest at Tommy Lasorda Field with first pitch set for 3 p.m. Live stats will also be provided.
 
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.