The Penn Quakers return bruised from their first set of games.
Photo Credit: Luke Castellini
By Ryan Wolff
Penn Varsity Baseball has endured a rough start to their 2025 season. They have won only one game out of their first nine—and lost the first six games of the season—three to Florida State and three to Troy University.
Penn’s opening night in Tallahassee consisted of a 24-2 Florida State blowout in which the Quakers were overcome by twenty hits, nineteen of which were singles and mercy-ruled Penn in seven innings. The Seminoles’ baseball team is ranked ninth in the nation.
The Seminoles are 15-1. In the 2024 College World Series, the Seminoles lost in the semifinals to the Tennessee Volunteers—the eventual champions.
Penn Baseball has excelled in the Ivy League the past two seasons, winning back-to-back Ivy League Baseball Tournament Championships. In those same years, the team advanced to the NCAA Division I Baseball tournament for the first time since 1995.
Losing Wyatt Henseler, last year’s unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year, seems to have affected the team. Henseler graduated from Penn and is currently using his fifth year of eligibility at Texas A&M. The loss of Henseler, who received a third-team ABCA All-America nod for his achievements for the 2022 and 2024 seasons, will no doubt be a factor in this year’s season.
The Quakers additionally lost right-handed pitcher Cole Zaffiro—the ace of Penn’s 2024 pitching staff. Zaffiro signed with the New York Yankees in July 2024 as an undrafted free agent. Eli Trop, another right-handed pitcher instrumental in the team’s recent success, was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 16th round of the MLB draft.
After three games in Tallahassee, Penn continued their Southern road trip to Troy University in Alabama. The Quakers lost 11-1 on Friday, Feb. 28, and were defeated on Saturday in a 10-9 heartbreaker.
The Quakers were up 9-7 until the eighth inning, when the Trojans tied the game. An error in the bottom of the ninth by shortstop Davis Baker left runners on first and second with no outs, and a subsequent sacrifice bunt (with a throwing error) served as the Trojan walk-off.
The Quakers lost the final game of their matchup in Troy by a score of 6-1.
Penn Baseball’s home was on March 7th against the Delaware Blue Hens (7-8) at Meiklejohn Stadium—the first of a three-game set against the University of Delaware. Delaware won this game 12-7.
Ryan Wolff is a junior in the College studying Health and Societies and History from New York, NY. Ryan is also the Sports Editor for The Pennsylvania Post. His email is rywolff@sas.upenn.edu.
