Softball racks up 35 runs against Delaware St.

Penn continues to play above .500 softball The Penn softball team has an affinity for the number two. Over the course of this past weekend, the team lost two games to Lehigh but came back to keep their above-.500 average by defeating Delaware State twice on Saturday. The Quakers' performance got progressively better over the weekend. In their first competition, Penn fell 9-0 to Lehigh (8-9). The deficit in the next game was only two runs, as the Red and Blue lost again, 5-3, in nine innings. "The big difference between Friday's games was that in the first game we had a few lapses in defense," Penn second baseman Lauren Mishner said. "In the second game, we turned that around and got into extra innings." Defense has been Penn's (10-9) biggest problem this season; a quick look at some numbers shows why and how. After 10 games, the Quakers were 4-6. They had recorded 34 errors to their opponents' combined 12. In the last two games that Penn won, Delaware State racked up 10 errors to Penn's six -- a clear improvement over previous efforts. But Lehigh pitchers Patty Gorwin and Maureen Trigo were stellar -- allowing only three hits over the six innings. "She wasn't throwing the ball incredibly hard, but it moved around a lot, and that's why we were having some trouble hitting her," Laurie Nestler said of Lehigh pitcher Patty Gorwin, who threw for five of the six innings. The next game of the afternoon showed marked improvement as Penn took Lehigh to extra innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the scoreboard read 2-1 in the Quakers' favor. Lehigh then racked up two points to take the late lead. Penn fought back to tie it up in the bottom half of the sixth and the game proceeded to three extra innings. The Quakers didn't score again as Lehigh ended the game in the ninth by scoring two. Although Penn struggled against a strong Lehigh team, Delaware State (0-6) didn't have the same prowess on the field. Sweeping the Saturday afternoon doubleheader 22-2 and 13-3, the Quakers started a new winning streak. "We definitely came out swinging the bat much more aggressively against Delaware State than against Lehigh," Mishner said. In the two wins against Delaware State, freshman Suzanne Arbogast and junior Jenn Strawley both added one more win to their records. Arbogast is now 5-2 for the season and Strawley is 2-0. "We need to stop just splitting with teams," Mishner said. "We need to work at sweeping some teams and getting well above .500." This is a new concept for the Penn softball team, above .500 and especially well above .500. The Quakers' win record for this season has already tied last year's total. Still, the Ivy League season that has yet to begin. "There's no way to compare between this year and my freshman year," Mishner said. "At every single position, we have a player who can play as well or better then the player at that position from last year." A new team would explain a new style of play, but this novelty for the Penn softball program comes with the inexperience of youth. And that hasn't seemed to hurt the Quakers too much. The vast array of errors may be attributed to inexperience, but the freshmen aren't making all the errors and the team is working hard to improve upon their weakness. "We have a very young infield and errors are something that we focus on in practice," said Nestler. The Quakers are not only working hard to improve on this season and seasons past, but they are enjoying it for the first time in a while. "The attitude is a lot better this season than last season," Nestler said. "Everyone is upbeat and enjoying playing."