Injured Softball looks for consistency

When your home field is not even on maps of the campus, the terms "home" and "away" are relative. This is the case for the Penn softball team, which plays at Warren Field. Warren Field is closer to Exit 41 of the Schuylkill Expressway than to the Quad, Superblock or Franklin Field. "Home" and "away" will have even less meaning tomorrow afternoon when neighborhood-rival Drexel "travels" to Warren Field to take on the Quakers in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. Last year's twin bill against the Dragons showcased the best and worst of Penn's abilities. The first game was one of the Quakers' sloppiest performances of the year. Drexel capitalized on a number of Penn errors to win, 9-2. But if the first game was one of the Quakers' worst performances of the year, then their 14-4 victory in game two was surely one of their best. Penn will be looking for a little more consistency this year. But with three regular starters sidelined with injuries, consistency will be tough. In the infield, only sophomore Laurie Nestler is playing the position at which she started the season. But the numerous injuries the Quakers have suffered may be a blessing in disguise. Injuries to Sam Smithson, Rachel Benepe and Vicki Moore have forced Penn coach Linda Carothers to employ her own type of replacement ball. Junior Kristin Richeimer, the Quakers' everyday third baseman, has settled into her role as the emergency catcher with Smithson and Benepe sidelined. Amy Malerba has gained valuable experience at the hot spot, and Laura Guimond has seen her first significant playing time at second base in place of Malerba. With Dawn Kulp moving in to take Moore's place at first base, Lisa Zelnick has moved into the starting lineup in right field. That flexibility may prove invaluable later in the season when the six-games-per-week schedule begins to take its toll on the team. Carothers will have the advantage of going to an experienced bench. In addition, the Quakers may be more prepared than any other Ivy League team in case of an injury to a key player once the conference schedule begins. But that hope is little consolation to Penn as it prepares for Drexel. Moore had been a monster at the plate and a workhorse on the mound. She sported a .345 batting average with seven RBIs and led the team with nine runs scored before going out with a groin injury. Moore also led the team with 48 1/3 innings pitched. Smithson's season was cut short in the seventh game of the season, and she was batting .400 at the time. When Smithson broke her thumb, the catching duties were handed over to Benepe. While her .235 batting average may not turn many heads, all of Benepe's hits have been key. Her eight hits have driven in six runs, including four RBIs in the Quakers' two come-from-behind wins over Delaware. Penn's makeshift lineup is going to have to make the routine plays and cut down on mental mistakes in order to beat the Dragons. "We've started a lot of our games with errors," Melanie Bolt said. "We're going to have to cut down on them and play a solid game." With Moore watching from the bench, the pressure now falls on Jen Strawley and Bolt to pick up the slack on the mound. Although Strawley has struggled in her first year of collegiate competition, Bolt has dominated the opposition, allowing only 2.36 earned runs per game. "I have to do my part, and it's hard when a lot of teammates are injured around you," Bolt said. "But in the end, we're a team, and we've got to come together."