Coming off three consecutive one-run losses, Yale baseball (6-14, 0-0 Ivy) begins its Ivy League schedule this weekend with two doubleheaders on the road.

The Bulldogs travel to Philadelphia to play Penn (6-7, 0-0) on Saturday and to Manhattan to take on Columbia (4-14, 0-0) on Sunday.

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Two days ago, the Elis suffered a tough loss at the hands of UConn (11-10), 4-3, after fighting back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game.

The Bulldogs are still looking to hit their stride. Inconsistency has plagued the team of late. In addition to the 4-3 loss to UConn, the club fell to Radford (13-9) by scores of 2-1 and 13-12 on Saturday. The team has not been able to put together the type of game that will put it on the winning side of these one-run games.

“We got to put everything together and try to play a perfect game when we go out there — pitching, hitting and defense,” Joe Castaldi ’10 said after the UConn game.

Defense has especially plagued the Elis. Defensive miscues in each of the last two games proved to be the difference in the end.

On offense, the Bulldogs are led by slugging catcher/left fielder Ryan Lavarnway ’09 and speedy leadoff man Josh Cox ’08. Lavarnway — who has already been named Ivy League Player of the Week twice — leads the team with a .397 batting average, eight home runs and 23 RBI.

Cox is second on the team in average, hitting at a .384 clip with a team-leading 33 hits.