April 7, 2007
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score| Photo Gallery
NEW HAVEN, Conn.--The weather at Yale Field was cold, and so were the Yale bats. The Bulldogs (7-17, 1-5 Ivy) tallied just 13 hits and left 19 runners on base, as they were swept by Penn (12-12, 6-4 Ivy), 12-6 and 9-1 in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. Yale's defense was also shaky, as the Bulldogs committed eight errors in the two games, leading to six unearned runs.
The Bulldogs took a 4-0 lead in the second inning of game one. After three successive singles to open the inning, Charles Bush scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch. Stephen Miehls then connected on an RBI double that brought home Pedro Obregon. Two runs scored when Dan Soltman reached on an error. However, starter Chris Wietlispach didn't have the command he had in his last start against Princeton. The Quakers came right back to tie it in the top of the third on two bases-loaded walks and a Soltman error.
Penn took a 6-4 lead in the top of the fifth when Kyle Armeny singled to open the inning and later scored on Joey Boaen's long home run to right field. This time it was Yale that responded immediately. After Marc Sawyer singled and Ryan Lavarnway was hit by a pitch, Reid Terry came in to face Bush. Bush came through with a two-run double to left center that tied the game at 6-6.
Penn had runners on first and second with one out in the top of the seventh, but Chris Walsh got Matt Toffaletti to fly to center for the second out. Next was Steve Gable, who hit one deep to left field that looked like it would be an extra-base hit to give the Quakers the lead. The ball changed direction in the wind and Stefan Schropp, a pitcher playing the outfield for the first time in his career, made a sensational back-handed catch to end the inning. The Bulldogs went down quietly in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, the Quakers erupted for six runs off Brian Irving (0-4). Jarron Smith's grounder hit Irving in the leg and bounced right to Obregon at third, who threw Smith out. Irving then yielded seven consecutive singles which, combined with two errors, gave Penn a 12-6 lead. Yale got two runners on in the bottom of the eighth, but Andy Console (2-0) got Josh Cox to fly out to end the game.
Bush and Soltman each had two hits in the first game, and Bush added two RBIs. Lavarnway went 0-for-2, ending his Ivy-record hitting streak at 25 (two in 2006, 23 in 2007). His streak ended one game short of the Ivy single-season record of 24, held by two different Brown players, Shaun Gallagher (2001) and Dan Kantrovitz (1999).
Alex Nwaka and Toffaletti went a combined 6-for-9 with three RBIs from the seven and eight spots in the Penn order. Armeny had two hits, three runs and two RBIs, and Boaen added two hits and two runs while driving in three.
Yale also struck first in game two, scoring an unconventional run in the bottom of the third. Cox walked leading off the inning and advanced to second on a balk. He moved to third on a throwing error by Penn catcher Josh Corn and scored on Soltman's grounder to short. However, that was Yale's only run of the contest, as Jim Birmingham (2-1) shut the door the rest of the way, surrendering just five hits and striking out seven in a complete game.
Once again, the Bulldogs immediately gave up the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Boaen led off the inning with a single, and scored on Toffaletti's double. The Quakers took a 3-1 advantage with two more runs in the top of the fifth.
Steve Gilman (2-3) pitched well enough to keep the Bulldogs in the game until the seventh, when Yale's defense fell apart. Armeny opened the frame with a blast to right field that made it 4-1. After a fly out and a single, Nwaka rolled what looked like an easy double-play ball to third. Both runners were safe, however, when Bush's throw went over Ankney's head and into right field. Up next was Toffaletti, who smashed a three-run shot to left. The Quakers added another unearned run to make the score 8-1. Penn added another run in the eighth, and Birmingham got out of the only real trouble he was in, first and second with one out in the eighth, by inducing two fly balls.
Sawyer and Bush each had two hits in game two. As a team, the Bulldogs mustered just five. However, Yale failed to take advantage of Birmingham's five walks, leaving 11 runners on base.
The Quakers had 16 hits in game two to go with the 15 they pounded out in the first game. William Gordon, Smith and Armeny all had three hits in the game, while Toffaletti added two. Toffaletti was 5-for-10 with six RBIs in the doubleheader.
Yale concludes its eight games with the Gehrig Division on Sunday afternoon at Yale Field, when the Bulldogs take on Columbia for a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. Columbia (10-16-1, 5-5 Ivy) was also swept on Saturday, falling to Brown 9-2 and 8-1. The teams split the doubleheader at Andy Coakley Field last season.
Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity
