Softball freshmen aim for .500 mark

It is the season of change. Spring is underway, along with its barrage of rainy days, May flowers and pilgrims, softball. And the Penn softball team has been experiencing some changes, too. With the freshman power of Suzanne Arbogast's arm, Sarah Dominic's bat and Michelle Zaptin's consistency, the Quakers have a different look from years past. All three players started their careers in Little League. From there, their careers are markedly different. Arbogast helped found a softball team at her middle school, Episcopal Academy in Bala Cynwyd, only to transfer a year later to Shiply, where she pitched almost every game of her career. Dominic began her athletic interests with basketball ,but soon moved on to softball. Like Arbogast, she played in middle school and high school and added stints in annual summer leagues as well. Zaptin also played as a youngster. Her first season of soft pitch was during the summer of eighth grade. Zaptin continued to play in summer league, as well as for her high school since then. The three are not only similar in that they were good in high school. Arbogast was her high school team's MVP for four years, Zaptin was awarded by the New York Daily News and the New York Newsday as well as being named all borough and all city during her career. Dominic adds another MVP year to this powerful trio. Although they were part of a powerful recruiting class, these three have stood out with their play in the beginning of the season. Arbogast is the leading pitcher on the team with a 1.44 ERA, but only a 1-3 record in three starts. Arbogast is not the only freshman on the mound this season. She is joined by Joy Silvern, who has the team's best record at 3-1. Dominic and Zaptin are both good hitters who have been performing well in the field and at the plate. These prized recruits are definitely making a difference on the team. Penn coach Linda Carothers has been helping the class of 2000 along, especially at the plate. "Coach has been working with me a lot on my hitting," Dominic said. "Our strengthening coach has been working with us and that has helped me get my swing around with a lot more power. That's been helping me a lot this year. I'm much stronger than when I got here." Zaptin noted many of the same things and added a noticeable improvement in her defensive play. "Definitely my hitting has improved since my arrival," Zaptin said. " I wasn't much of a power hitter before I got here, but now I've been able to hit and bunt in most of our games. I also think my outfield play has improved too, but that's just from repetition. Linda has helped a lot with the hitting." This weekend, these three will lead Penn against Coppin State (0-4), a team that has not been hosted on Penn turf in many years on Saturday. On Sunday, the Quakers (4-6) will travel to Easton, Pa., to play Lafayette. The hiatus since a battle between Coppin St. and Penn has been so long that the youngsters of the team are a little bewildered as to what to expect, but Zaptin has confidence in her teammates. "Coppin State is supposedly a tough team," Zaptin said. "I think that Villanova was one of the toughest teams we will see this season and we definitely contended with them." However, before Penn can make any assertions as to who was tough and who wasn't, a record above .500 and maybe even a winning streak would be a good idea. Both are possible this weekend, one resulting from the other. Well, the freshmen had a solution for that, not just a change from season's past. "We have to take the season game-by-game," Dominic said. "When we played in Florida, we played very well as a team against Colgate. We have to concentrate hard to play as a team. When we play as one, we play very well. If we can do that this weekend, we can get a streak going."