PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team battled Saint Joseph's on Tuesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park in the Liberty Bell Classic championship, but the Hawks came away with an 8-2 victory. Saint Joseph's triumph pushed it to 26 wins on the season (26-13), while Penn fell to 15-19.

Quaker Notemeal
*Freshman Jack Warner led the Quakers' offense with two hits and an RBI in South Philly.

*Gavin Degnan drove in Penn's second run of the outing with a 415-foot blast over the wall in left field during the fourth inning.

*Senior infielder Ryan Taylor was the only other Quaker to register a base knock and made history after leading off with a single in the first inning. The Elmer, N.J. native tallied his 26^th stolen base on Tuesday, which eclipsed the previous single-season record (25) held by Doug Glanville during the 1989 campaign. Taylor is also the all-time leader in career stolen bases (68).

*The Red and Blue used nine different arms on the hill on Tuesday, led by two innings apiece from Thomas Egbert and Aidan von Zuben.

How It Happened
Taylor got the offense rolling with a single to third base, prior to back-to-back flyouts from Jay Secretarski and Jarrett Pokrovsky. Junior Nick Spaventa then reached on an error at third base, advancing Taylor to third. After Degnan was hit by a pitch, Penn's first run of the day was driven in by Warner's single to shortstop that allowed Taylor to waltz across the dish.
 
Neither side put any runs on the board in the second frame, but the Hawks found some offensive momentum in the third. Alex Kelsey and Blake Primrose reached base after drawing walks and quickly made their way home courtesy of Richard Beggy's single through the left side, giving Saint Joseph's a 2-0 lead. Jason Janesko drove in the Hawks' third run of the inning with a single through the left side that scored Beggy.
 
Freshman left-hander Ben Moulin took over on the mound in the fourth frame and notched two strikeouts that gave the Red and Blue momentum heading into their at-bats. Degnan was due up for the Quakers, and his 415-foot bomb to left field brought Penn within one (3-2) of knotting the ballgame.

Saint Joseph's stretched its lead to 5–2 in the middle innings, fueled by RBI extra-base hits from Tim Dickinson and Primrose.

Pitchers Nick Newburn and Justin Sweeney dueled in the seventh frame, keeping both offenses off the board. The Hawks responded by tacking on their sixth run in the eighth inning thanks to a single through the left side from Beggy.

Saint Joseph's capped off its fourth Liberty Bell Classic title with two ninth-inning runs that put the game out of reach for Penn. Closer Andrew Gaines then slammed the door, retiring the Quakers in 1-2-3 fashion with a pair of strikeouts.

Up Next
Penn looks to bounce back this weekend as it gears up for a three-game series at Harvard that begins with a doubleheader on Saturday.

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