PHILADELPHIA – It looked as if the University of Pennsylvania baseball team were on their way to the Liberty Bell Classic semifinals after taking a 10-4 lead after the fourth inning, but Saint Joseph's scored 10 unanswered runs to win, 14-4, Tuesday afternoon at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium. The game was called after eight innings due to darkness.
The Quakers (8-10) will face Lafayette next Tuesday at home in the LBC consolation round, while the Hawks (9-14) will face Delaware with a trip to Citizens Bank Park on the line.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn's longest winning streak since 2023 came to an end at seven straight games. It was also tied for the nation's longest win streak along with Arkansas and Central Connecticut State.
*The defeat is the Quakers' sixth straight in the first round of the Liberty Bell Classic. Penn has not qualified for the semifinals since 2017, when it advanced to the championship game at CBP and was defeated by La Salle, 2-1.
*
Davis Baker doubled three times in a 3-for-5 effort, driving in three runs.
*
Ernie Echevarria was excellent at the plate, plating two runs after going 2-for-3 with two walks. He also scored twice and threw out a batter behind the dish.
*
Aidan von Zuben shoved in his second straight midweek start, allowing just two runs on five hits over three innings. He struck out six batters and walked none.
*
Marty Coyne struck out four over two shutout frames, scattering four hits.
*
Connor Darling (0-1) was charged with the loss after allowing five runs on four walks.
How It Happened
The Hawks scored first in the top of the first inning with a two-run homer down the left-field line, taking an early 1-0 lead.
That's when the Penn offense took complete command of its best inning of the year, scoring eight runs on five hits in the bottom of the third to go ahead, 8-2. The inning was started with back-to-back knocks from
Connor Chavez and Baker,
Jarrett Pokrovsky reaching on a fielder's choice that scored Chavez. Echevarria walked with the bases loaded to tie the game at 2-2 before Taylor came through with one swing of the bat, launching a grand slam to right field to take a 6-2 lead. The Quakers added two more with Baker's two-run double to right center, entering the fourth with an 8-2 edge.
SJU scored two runs off
Andrew Miehe in the fourth to cut the Penn lead in half at 8-4. The Quakers answered back with two more runs in the fourth, by way of Echevarria's RBI single to center and
Michael Powell's RBI double down the right-field line, extending their lead to 10-4.
Coyne pitched well in relief, tossing two shutout frames before the Hawks started their comeback.
St. Joe's scored four runs in the seventh inning and six more in the eighth to come all the way back and lead 14-10 heading into the Penn half of the eighth.
The Quakers had one final chance in the bottom of the eighth inning when Spaventa and Powell both reached on hit-by-pitches with one out.
Gavin Degnan reached on a fielder's choice and Chavez struck out swinging to end the ballgame, as the umpires met with both coaches and decided the field was too dark to continue.
Up Next
Penn will look to continue upon its 3-0 start in Ivy play on Saturday at Dartmouth. Game 1 of the doubleheader will begin at 11:30 a.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
#QuakeShow
#FightOnPenn
