Down five after four innings, Penn showed some fight but couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 5-3 to No. 9 Florida State on Sunday at Dick Howser Stadium. The loss sealed a series sweep for the Seminoles (7-0), while the Quakers (0-3) head home still looking for their first win of the season.
Making his return after a season-ending injury last April, Jarrett Pokrovsky delivered his first hit and RBI of the year, going 1-for-3 while making a stellar defensive play in his debut at third base. Ryan Taylor extended his hitting streak to four games, continuing his hot start to the season with a .444 average (4-for-9) and three doubles.
Starter Will Tobin (0-1) struggled early, allowing three earned runs on five hits in 1.1 innings, but the Penn bullpen gave the offense a chance to rally. Jake Moss stabilized things with 2.1 innings of two-hit relief, giving up just one run while striking out two. Freshman Sebastian Haggard impressed in his collegiate debut, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Connor Darling and Thomas Shurtleff each added a scoreless frame, with the bullpen combining for eight strikeouts over the final five innings.
Penn now returns home before heading south again next weekend for a three-game set at No. 24 Troy. First pitch in Friday’s opener is set for 5 p.m. ET.
In other D-I Philly action
Saint Joseph’s couldn’t hold a late lead, falling 6-3 to Mount St. Mary’s in the rubber match of their weekend series at Smithson Field. The Hawks had the tying run at the plate in the ninth but couldn’t capitalize. Alex Kelsey picked up two hits, while Nathan Stein took the loss after allowing three runs on six hits over five innings with six strikeouts.
Villanova ran into trouble in its series finale at Winthrop, suffering a 17-4 loss on Sunday. Despite the lopsided score, Austin Lemon extended his hitting streak to six games with a leadoff single in the first, and Michael Whooley homered for the second straight game. The Wildcats will look to bounce back in their home opener Tuesday against Coppin State at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth, with first pitch set for 3 p.m. ET.
