Softball earns first Ivy sweep

Quakers drop Big Red twice Keeping its pride intact, the Penn softball team garnered its first Ivy League sweep against Cornell yesterday after making a comeback late in the second game. Penn's lethargic effort mirrored Saturday's matchup with Princeton in which it lost both games --Eluckily for the Quakers, Cornell did not pose nearly the same type of resistance. Things started out well for Penn in the games which were rescheduled from Sunday due to rain. The Quakers (12-13) came out aggressively on both the offensive and defensive ends. Senior pitcher Lanie Moore allowed only five hits and one run against the Big Red while striking out four, keeping her momentum strong through seven innings. "The first game was a nice recovery after getting beat up by Princeton on Saturday," Penn coach Linda Carothers said. Penn took an early lead in the second inning when freshman Samantha Smithson knocked home three runs. Senior co-captain Rachel Walsh, sophomore Abby Shore and sophomore Kristin Richeimer all scored to put the Quakers up by three. Aggressive on the bases, the Quakers took every opportunity to get closer to home. This strategy backfired in the third inning when Cornell made a double play off Penn's overzealous baserunning. When freshman Abby Altman singled, she was thrown out at first and freshman Laurie Nestler was caught sliding home to end the inning. These types of mental mistakes could have cost the Quakers the games, but fortunately for Penn, the Big Red was unable to capitalize on them. "Our baserunning was crazy," Carothers said. "We lost two runners at third. It's fortunate that this was with Cornell, because we wouldn't have been able to get away with it with other schools." The Quakers struggled through the second game until the sixth inning. In the sixth they scored two runs on a few costly errors by the Big Red to seal the victory and earn the sweep, Penn's second sweep of the season. Freshman pitcher Melanie Bolt had a slow start, allowing three earned runs in the first inning. Fellow classmate Vicki Moore replaced Bolt on the mound and held the Big Red to only one hit for the next six innings. "Melanie has been super in relief, so we tried to start her," Carothers said. "But they hit early. Vicki did for Melanie in relief, what Melanie usually does for Vicki." Slowly but surely, Penn came back behind the strong hitting of Nestler and freshman Sam Smithson with a run in the fourth inning and two more in the sixth to capture the win, 5-4, and complete the afternoon sweep. "One thing that went well was that we kept coming back," Carothers said. "We were patient with our scoring effort, which tells us that we are developing a level of confidence instead of panic. We have to settle in and work harder." Now, midway through their season -- but just beginning their Ivy League schedule -- the Quakers hope to keep in perspective a winning percentage. "Everybody was pressured for last Saturday," Carothers said. "Today we relaxed and let it happen. We took a step with the left, then a step with the right-- instead of two with the right."