Softball is hoping for solid finish

With a two-and-a-half game lead going into this weekend's action, the Princeton softball team is poised to win its 11th Ivy League championship in the past 13 years. With a sweep of Yale tomorrow, the No. 23 Tigers will earn a bid to the NCAA play-in series against the Northeast Conference champion. With the lack of drama at the top of the Ancient Eight standings, there is at least a last-minute shuffle to determine second through eighth places. After last Saturday's doubleheader sweep of Brown, Penn has a legitimate shot to finish as high as third. To do so, the Quakers will need to win at least three, but probably all four, of their weekend games at Dartmouth and Harvard. "We hope to finish second or third," Penn's Laurie Nestler said. "Yale will be tough to catch since they beat us twice last weekend. But we have a good shot a third place. It will be between us and Harvard. That will probably be decided this weekend." Penn's first test will come at noon tomorrow, when the Quakers take on Dartmouth in a doubleheader in Hanover, N.H. The Big Green (3-23, 1-4 Ivy League) is one of two teams below Penn in the standings. Unless the Quakers (10-25, 2-4) revert back to their former error-prone selves, the trip to New Hampshire should be a fruitful one. Sunday's twin bill at Harvard should provide more of a test for the young Penn squad. But the Crimson (10-10, 3-3) is by no means unbeatable. On paper, Harvard should be better than its .500 record indicates. The Crimson boasts two of the Ivy League's top pitchers in Heather Brown and Tasha Cupp. Brown boasts a 5-2 record with a league-leading one save. Her 1.81 ERA against Ivy opponents is seventh best in the conference. Cupp gives Harvard a rarity in the Ancient Eight, a strong number two starter. She has a 2.47 ERA against conference opponents and is also tied for the Ivy lead in saves with one. The Crimson lineup also includes two of the conference's most feared hitters. Kara Hartl leads the conference with a .477 batting average. Danielle Feinberg is sixth at .368. Furthermore, Amy Reinhard and Sue Traub give Harvard two legitimate base-stealing threats. Reinhard is 11 of 13 on stolen base attempts. Traub has chipped in with seven swipes of her own. But errors and a lack of depth have relegated the Crimson to the middle of the pack. The Quakers will need strong pitching and solid defense if a double sweep is to become a reality. Vicki Moore has recently stepped into the rotation's number-one spot in coach Linda Carothers' ace-by-committee. Moore's four victories are a team high, and her 3.22 ERA is tops among regular Quakers starters. The return of Sam Smithson to the Penn lineup has been a key to the Quakers' resurgence. Smithson had been tagged as the starting catcher before being sidelined with a broken thumb. But freshman Rachel Benepe's strong work as the backup allowed Carothers to move Smithson to shortstop upon her return. That pushed Nestler back to her natural position in the outfield, where she earned second-team all-Ivy honors last season. "I definitely think we have a good chance to win all four games," Nestler said. "Harvard's going to be tough. But if we play them the way played against Brown, we'll win."