PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team returns to Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium this weekend for the first time in 2026.
 
Penn welcomes UMBC to University City for a doubleheader on Saturday. Game one is slated for an 11:30 a.m. first pitch followed by a 3 p.m. start for game two. The series wraps up on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
GAME 7-9: Penn (0-6, 0-0 Ivy) vs. UMBC (3-4, 0-0 AEC)
March 7-8 | Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium | Philadelphia, Pa.
Watch (ESPN+) Game 1, Game 2, Game 3 | Live Stats Game 1, Game 2, Game 3
 
Slow Start, Strong Competition
The Quakers head into their home-opening series with the same record as last season (0-6) through six games, but they've faced tough competition in their first two series of the year.
 
The season commenced with a three-game stint at then-No. 24 Texas A&M, a team that made a deep run in the SEC tournament in its previous campaign. Over the three meetings, the Quakers were outscored, 10-2, but took games one and two down to the wire, including an 11-inning affair in the second matchup.

Penn's most recent action brought them to Macon, Ga. last weekend for a trio of games against Mercer. The hosts took all three games, but the Red and Blue scored 10 more runs (12-2) against the Bears than they did a week prior in College Station.

A Decade of Home Openers
The Red and Blue hold a 5-5 record over their last 10 home openers at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium. Their most recent home-opening triumph came in an 8-3 win over Villanova (3/13) during the 2024 campaign.
 
At the Plate
Jay Secretarski has logged a hit in each of Penn's six games this season and is batting .231 over that stretch. The freshman enters the weekend with five singles, a double and two runs scored.
 
Qwynn Ahearn is one of two Quakers with a batting average over .300 this season (.400) after going 4-for-8 at the dish in the series at Mercer. The junior's first hit of the 2026 campaign was a two-run home run that handed Penn a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning of game two.
 
First baseman Nick Spaventa has rung up six hits, three doubles and two RBIs through six games and ranks second on the team in batting average (.300). His three doubles currently have him tied for the most amongst his conference foes.
 
The Quakers tallied the first three home runs of the season while down in Georgia. Gavin Degnan hit a solo shot on Friday night, followed by multiple-run homers from Ahearn and freshman Jack Warner later in the weekend.

Michael Powell (.214), Jarrett Pokrovsky (.208) and Degnan (.200) round out Penn's hitters with a batting average of .200 or better.
 
On the defensive side, Penn currently holds the second-best fielding percentage (.971) in the conference with just six errors.
 
On the Mound
Senior Jake Moss leads Penn with a 1.93 ERA amongst pitchers that have thrown six or more innings. Over his 9.1 frames of work, he's dished out seven strikeouts, while allowing only nine hits and two runs. Moss' ERA ranks second in the Ivy League.
 
The Quakers have thrown 55 strikeouts this season, which ranks second in the conference and the team's 5.36 ERA places them in third place. They've let up the third-most hits (63) among the other Ivies but have allowed the second-fewest runs (30).
 
Sophomore left-hander Aidan von Zuben had a career day in the Red and Blue's third game in Macon. The Warrington, Pa. native struck out six batters in 3.0 innings of work, matching his previous career high.

Marty Coyne leads Penn with 11 strikeouts this season, which ranks seventh in the Ivy League. Teammate von Zuben comes in at ninth in the conference with 10 strikeouts.

Freshmen Nick Newburn and Luke Pokrovsky still hold 0.0 ERA's, despite combining for 6.2 innings pitched.
 
Home-Field Advantage
Over the last four seasons, Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium has become a fortress for the Quakers. Penn holds a 53-23 home record over that span, posting records of 11-7 (2025), 10-6 (2024), 15-5 (2023) and 17-5 (2022).
 
Scouting the Retrievers
UMBC was slated to have midweek matchups with George Washington and Delaware State on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the contests were postponed due to overnight snow.
 
The Retrievers enter the weekend with a 3-4 record, after beginning the season with three straight losses at Longwood. They claimed their first win of the season at Georgetown (2/25) before taking two games against Monmouth last Saturday.
 
The visitors have four hitters batting above .300 this year including Dylan Melton (.333), Danny Wyatt (.333), Kyle Eddington (.333) and Ehi Okojie (.320). Melton has a team-high nine hits and Wyatt leads the team in home runs (2) and RBIs (10).
 
From the bump, Brady LeJeune-DeAcutis (0-2, 3.00), Eddie Sargent (0-1, 5.91), and Zach Robinson (0-0, 8.64) have handled the majority of the workload as starters. Reliever Kailen Hackmann has a team-leading 11 strikeouts and has allowed only one hit in four innings pitched.

As a unit, the Retrievers are giving up an average of 8.43 runs per game, the second-worst average in the America East. However, they've allowed the fewest amount of hits (64) compared to their conference opponents.
 
Follow the Action
This weekend's contests will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available throughout the weekend.
 
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.