Softball sweeps close doubleheader

The Penn softball team's two victories over West Chester were both by one run. The bottom of the sixth. In baseball, it means Cubs fans are sitting in the stands wondering whose going to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." But in softball, where games are only seven innings long, it means time is running out. It is a time when clutch players come through big, and that's what Suzanne Arbogast and Lauren Mishner did for Penn (4-9) yesterday at Warren Field. For a team that lost a few close games early in the season, it was definitely a change for the better. "There were two things I thought were really outstanding," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "First, we found a way to win and second, we had a lot of people contribute off the bench." After a come-from-behind 4-3 victory in the first game, the Quakers went on to win the second game as well by a score of 5-4 over visiting West Chester. The victories marked Penn's first double-header sweep of the season and extended the Quakers' winning streak to three in a row and four out of five. It took two separate offensive bursts to come from behind in the first game of the double-header. The Quakers trailed 3-1 in the bottom of the third when a single by Christine Fenyus drove in two runs to tie the score. The score remained 3-3 until the bottom of the sixth, when freshman Jaime Hojdila drew a one-out walk. Sarah Dominic moved pinch runner Heather Finley over to second with a sacrifice bunt. After a Sara Atwater walk, pitcher Suzanne Arbogast came up with a chance to be a hero on the offensive end. She came through with a single to center that sent the go-ahead run home. In addition to driving home the winning run, Arbogast went the distance on the mound to record the win. West Chester again held the lead in the second game, 4-3 this time, going into the bottom of the sixth. Down to their next to last at bat, Quakers freshman Kari Feinberg's hustle got her to first safely after Golden Rams' shortstop Kristin Smereczynski bobbled her grounder. Atwater's sacrifice bunt then advanced pinch-runner Michelle Zaptin to second. But an Arbogast pop-up was the second out, and Penn was running out of time. Freshman Vicky Frondozo, who came to the plate having previously reached base in all three plate appearances, made it four straight with a walk. Zaptin, meanwhile, advanced to third on a wild pitch, setting up runners on the corners with two outs. Junior tri-captain Lauren Mishner then came to the plate having gone 0-for-4 the rest of the day. "Basically I came up there after having struggled all day, and I just wanted to put the ball in play hard somewhere and get it past the infield," Mishner said. Mishner did exactly that, driving an 0-2 pitch into left field, putting Zaptin and Frondozo across the plate and the Quakers ahead for good. Frondozo had an especially strong day for the Quakers, going 4-for-5 in addition to two walks. She raised her team-leading batting average 62 points to .469 and also scored four runs. In the fifth inning of the second game, the first and third basemen both crept in extremely close, expecting one of the bunts that Frondozo is known for. "A lot of people think that because I'm a slapper and a bunter that's all I can do," Frondozo said. "I was really tired of the other team playing me so far up. The girl at third base was right in my face and I felt like it was time to swing away." Instead of bunting, Frondozo smacked the ball into left field for a double. Two batters later, she scored from third on a pitch that only rolled a few feet away from the catcher. "I was really happy," Frondozo said. "I went out and practiced like I've been doing for a while, and I feel like it's the fruits of my labor." Frondozo was not the only hero in the second game, as the pitching staff came through as a group. Sophomore Joy Silvern, who is still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, gave up only two earned runs in 4.2 innings. "Her last couple outings she only gave us a couple innings, and she gave us four and a half strong innings today and that's really important," Kashow said. "She did a nice job and threw some pitches real hard." Arbogast came in to pitch with one out in the sixth and a runner on third for the Golden Rams. She kept the Quakers within one run, retiring both batters she faced. After Penn took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, she slammed the door, retiring West Chester in order to end the game. While Kashow did not feel they played as solidly as they should have in both games, she was happy to get the sweep against her alma mater. With the offense coming to life and everyone contributing, the Quakers did just enough to pull off two wins.