Penn swept in twin bill with Lehigh

Cursed with sick and injured players, the Penn softball team was destined to struggle yesterday against Lehigh. As the stars would have it, the Quakers met their fate as they lost both games of the doubleheader by significant margins, 7-0 and 9-2. The afternoon at Warren Field began roughly for Penn (8-19). Sophomore Jen Strawley (3-8) started on the mound for the Quakers, but was shelled in the first inning by a solid Lehigh offense. Strawley settled down for the next three innings, but then began to feel the effects of a stomach virus during the fifth. The righthander felt so bad that she not only left the game when freshman Megan Leary came in to relieve her, but Strawley also left the field. To make things worse, the Quakers weren't able to help their pitcher out at the plate. Lehigh pitcher Patty Godwin (8-4) shut down the Penn offense, allowing only four hits. Penn sophomore Jen Stanwix produced two of those hits, while junior Kara Lecker and freshman Lauren Mishner contributed one each. "We came out real flat in the first game," Penn coach Linda Carothers said. "We had a lot of physical errors. Lehigh is a good hitting ball team, and we never caught up." Although Penn picked up the tempo in the second game of the doubleheader, the Mountain Hawks (25-10) still outplayed the Quakers. Leary (3-5) started the nightcap for Penn. After relieving Strawley the game before, Leary showed no fatigue as she began the game strong, striking out two of the first three batters. Leary remained strong until the sixth inning, when one bad pitch turned the game against the Quakers. The score was tied at two with two outs when Lehigh designated hitter Sarah Pusey whacked one over the fence. "Today was a good time for her to come of age," Carothers said. "She has been struggling all year, but today she had confidence and control." Leary finished up the inning and began the seventh, but looked tired. Junior Vicki Moore came in to relieve the freshman. It was Moore's first appearance in a game since she injured her hamstring in the Cornell doubleheader April 6. Moore got Penn out of the inning and then went on to single her only at bat. "We were able to find out how Vicki was doing in her recovery," Carothers said. "Now we have a better idea of how she will play this weekend." The Quakers' offense came to the plate in the second game. Freshman Arlen Katzen pounded out two hits and junior Laurie Nestler had a double. The Quakers Achilles' heel in the second game was five errors. "Our physical errors finally caught up to us." Carothers said. "But we need to stay aggressive at the plate and not make mental errors."