Softball to face two struggling Ivy teams

Penn to host Harvard,Penn to host Harvard,last-place Dartmouth Two weeks ago, the Penn softball team traveled south for a doubleheader with Delaware State and proceeded to destroy the Hornets by scoring 30 combined runs in the two games. But since that offensive explosion, the Quakers have been in a major batting funk. The Red and Blue have only managed to put up a total of six runs in their last eight contests -- all losses -- while getting shut out four times. This weekend, Penn (6-25,1-7 Ivy League) will try and put their 25 losses behind them when they face their final two opponents of the season. Warren Field will be the sight of back-to-back doubleheaders tomorrow and Sunday versus two other struggling Ivy League teams -- Harvard (11-17, 3-3) and Dartmouth (5-23,0-6). In addition to the Quakers' hitting woes, the latest losing streak has seen a complete collapse of the Quakers' infield defense. For starting shortstop Sherryl Fodera and second baseman Lauren Mishner, it has been a particularly rough stretch in the field. Although Fodera has committed six errors in eight games, she has seen her fielding percentage slip only marginally, from .896 to .886. "It has been a long season for Sherryl," Penn coach Linda Carothers. "At the beginning of the she made some great plays for us, and as of late some signs of fatigue have shown. But I am confident Sherryl will have a solid final weekend." The right side has witnessed even sloppier play from Mishner. The second baseman's seven errors in the last eight games have caused her fielding percentage to nosedive from .919 to .892. With the Quakers tormented by a porous defense, production from the offense has been far below average. The usual suspects have been at fault for the Quakers. The bottom half of the batting order, which despite showing flashes at times, has folded as of late. Even more disturbing has been the inconsistent hitting of the middle part of the Quakers lineup. Left fielder Laurie Nestler (.330), Fodera (.271) and pitcher Vicki Moore (.315), who carried Penn offensively earlier in the season have slowly faded. All three have put up impressive season stats, but their inability to get timely hits and inability to move runners over has hurt Penn's run production. Fodera, Moore and Nestler have proven that they have the capability of playing solid Division I softball, but their success has not rubbed off on the rest of the team, which after the two losses to St. Joseph's (34-10) on Wednesday, was batting a combined .186. The problem with the Quakers hitting stems from a combination of good opposing pitching to a flat-out lack of concentration at the plate, according to Carothers. The first game against the Hawks exemplifies Carothers's theory. Penn only grabbed two singles, one each from Fodera and centerfielder Kara Lecker, the only Quaker to get more than one hit in the doubleheader with a 3-for-7 performance. Penn actually had a chance to win the second game, but an uncharacteristically careless play in the outfield turned a two-run Hawks lead into a six-run cushion. "This was just one of those situations," Carothers said. "Laurie, Sherryl and Kara were all going for the ball, and no one called for it." Two games remain between Penn and the end of the season. Luckily for the Quakers, both teams have had nearly as many troubles as the Red and Blue.