Lafayette slugger may hurt Softball

Although last season the Quakers lost both their games against Lafaytette, Penn coach Linda Carothers still said that Penn had a good chance to defeat the Leopards in Sunday's doubleheader (1 p.m., Warren Field). But when she was told that Lafayette's freshman phenom catcher and designated player Amy Hessels had a .583 batting average, Carothers just grimaced. Stopping Hessels -- who also has 11 RBI's and four doubles -- will be the Quakers (2-7) biggest challenge. Compare Hessels' stats to Penn's strongest batter, junior outfielder Laurie Nestler. Nestler is batting .429 with four RBIs, one double, three triples and a home run. On top of the huge gap between averages, Nestler was hit by a pitch Wednesday against Villanova on her throwing hand. Her appearance in this weekend's games still isn't definite, and if she does play, soreness will likely be a big factor in her performance. This is not the news a coach wants against a team with a slugger almost at the .600 mark. And it will not help that Lafayette's next player down on the average ladder, junior first baseman Jen Rothrock, is batting .429, the same as Nestler. Some prepared strategy in these types of situations seems imperative. But Carothers wants to wait until she sees the Leopards on the field. "I make it a policy to attack everybody," Carothers said. "You don't know if a youngster is going to hurt you until they've seen your players. I don't know what kind of pitching they've seen." Carothers then explained why a .583 batting average on paper does not matter to her. "Statistics lie," she explained. "I could have a team batting .500, but how did I score a ball that maybe tipped off a kid's glove, who should have had a catch. Do I give that [batter] a hit or do I give that [fielder] an error? It depends who's scoring the game. It depends on how they score. "There's an awful lot of 'what ifs' statistically in our game. So when you see someone who has a .500 batting average, I don't know. I've got some pretty long-ball, pretty good hitters. And we're not batting .500. When somebody comes to me statistically outstanding, my eyebrows are up." Before the Quakers battle Lafayette (4-3), Penn must travel to Delaware to face the Blue Hens. The Quakers have had success against Delaware, defeating the Blue Hens twice last season in come-from-behind style. "It's always a difficult game," Carothers said. "All of our games against Delaware are close. Home field advantage is really not an advantage with Delaware. Normally when they come here they win and when we go there we win." If this axiom proves true Saturday then the Quakers should come home with two more numbers in the victory column. But it won't be easy. Delaware (1-5) boasts two pitchers with 1.84 ERAs. Junior Jen Ballier and freshman Krysta Pidstawski will probably both make appearances on the mound. The Quakers will be able to counter, however, with ace pitcher Jen Strawley, who has a 1.24 ERA. The Blue Hens' top slugger is senior third baseman Lauren Baugher, who is batting .438, with catcher and designated hitter Bonnie Seaman not far behind with a .400 average. Delaware, like Penn, is a young team. The Blue Hens lead off with two freshman. The widespread inexperience on both teams could level the playing field, but nothing is for sure. "We are going to have our hands full," Carothers said. Especially with Amy Hessels.