Story Links

PHILADELPHIA – The Red and Blue invite Lehigh to University City on Wednesday for a 3 p.m. first pitch at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium. Penn was in Greenville, N.C. this past weekend, bringing home a 1-0 victory in Game Two on Saturday.
 
GAME 14: Penn (3-10, 0-0 Ivy) vs. Lehigh (5-11, 2-1 Patriot)
March 18 | Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium | Philadelphia, Pa.
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

The Series

Penn and Lehigh have played one another 123 times in their respective histories, with the Quakers holding an 87-32-4 all-time record against the Mountain Hawks. The hosts enter the matchup on an eight-game winning streak, taking the last meeting, 19-2, in seven innings in Bethlehem.

Head Coach John Yurkow‘s group won the latest matchup at Tommy Lasorda Field, which was a 12-11 victory during the 2024 campaign (3/20).

The series began on June 10, 1986, and Lehigh came out on top with a 7-6 victory.

 

At the Plate

Junior catcher Qwynn Ahearn leads Penn with a .379 batting average, which ranks second in the Ivy League. Through nine games starting behind the plate, the Woodbine, Md. native holds a 1.086 OPS, placing first in the conference. Ahearn has recorded 11 hits, eight RBIs and two home runs to begin the season.

Jay Secretarski comes into Wednesday’s contest with a .277 average, having recorded a hit in all but one game this year in 13 starts. The freshman paces the Red and Blue with 13 hits and has scored seven times thanks to a .370 on-base percentage.

 

Senior Ryan Taylor started to find his swing while down in Greenville, going 4-for-9 at the dish over the trio of games with the Pirates. The Elmer, N.J. native went a perfect 3-for-3 on Sunday (3/15) with a home run, a double, two runs scored and drew two walks.

 

Gavin Degnan, Nick Spaventa, Taylor and Ahearn all went yard in the series with East Carolina. The Quakers have registered nine home runs, which is tied for the most in the Ivy League this campaign.

Gavin Collins (.214), Ryan Taylor (.216), Michael Powell (.226), Spaventa (.240), Degnan (.250), Secretarski and Ahearn are all hitting over .200.  

 

In the field, the Quakers currently hold the third-best fielding percentage (.966) in the conference with just 16 errors.

 

On the Mound

Penn’s pitching has been a bright spot through 13 games, boasting a 5.63 ERA that ranks third in the Ivy League. The Red and Blue have walked the fewest number of batters in the conference (49) and produced the third-most strikeouts (94).

Marty Coyne leads Penn and ranks second in the Ivy League with a 3.00 ERA among pitchers that have thrown 10 or more innings. The Hockessin, Del. native leads his conference foes in innings pitched (24.0) and his 22 strikeouts come in at fourth place. Coyne threw 8.0 scoreless innings on Saturday (3/14) at East Carolina to earn his first win of the year, which included four strikeouts and zero walks.

 

Sophomore reliever Connor Darling (6.14, 0-0) took over for Coyne in the ninth frame on Saturday and earned his second save of the season by shutting down the Pirates’ final at-bats of the afternoon.

Seniors Jake Moss (5.89, 1-1) and Thomas Shurtleff (6.00, 1-2) were credited with losses in Games One and Three against East Carolina. Moss threw three frames with two strikeouts, while Shurtleff tallied four strikeouts.

 

Scouting the Mountain Hawks

Lehigh is coming off a series win in its conference-opening set with Navy this past weekend. The visitors captured 3-1 victories on Friday and Sunday, their first pair of Patriot League wins. Prior to taking down the Midshipmen, Lehigh dropped three games to Davidson and its midweek matchup with Saint Peter’s.

 

Five Mountain Hawks hold batting averages of .250 or better among players that have played in 10 or more games, including Raffaele Rogers (.314), Trystan Crawford (.283), Aidan Quinn (.264), Ryan Cochran (.250) and Robbie Carvelli (.250).

Crawford leads the team with 15 hits, while Rogers paces Lehigh in RBIs (nine), total bases (24) and home runs (four) in just 35 at-bats. As a unit, the visitors’ batting average of .243 ranks third in the Patriot League, but they hold league lows in home runs (11) and RBIs (60).

 

From the bump, Jake Mulvehill has led Lehigh to victories over George Washington, Muhlenberg and Navy with a team-leading 4.70 ERA (10 or more innings pitched). The sophomore left-hander has doled out 17 strikeouts in 15.1 innings of work with only three walks.

Sam Fairnhurst (6.75, 2-1), Christopher Nell (5.17, 0-1), Cole Leaman (5.28, 0-3), Ryan Holman (12.54, 0-2), Shane O’Neill (17.36, 0-2) and Mulvehill have taken on the starting workload through 16 games. Fairnhurst, Nell and Leaman have all thrown 19 strikeouts to pace the Mountain Hawks.

Lehigh’s pitching staff is allowing an average of 8.37 runs per game, the second-worst among its Patriot League foes. The visitors have allowed a conference-high 169 hits and rank fourth in strikeouts (128).

 

Follow the Action

Wednesday’s contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ with play-by-play commentator Cory Nidoh on the call. Live stats will also be available throughout the afternoon.

 

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