Dragons stomp out Softball

Several questionable calls made by the officiating crew helped Drexel edge Penn twice, 5-4 and 2-1. Drexel's mascot may be the dragons, but you wouldn't have known it from the smoke coming out of Penn coach Carol Kashow's ears and the fire coming out of her mouth yesterday at the softball doubleheader. The poor umpiring made her that mad. Questionable calls by the umpires affected the scores in both of Penn's one-run losses at Drexel Field. The Quakers (5-14) lost the front end 5-4 due to some sloppy fielding, and dropped the second game 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning. "Not too many people were happy with [the umpires] today," Kashow said. "But I truly believe that it is our responsibility to put enough space between us and the other team that a decision by those guys isn't going to make a difference. We have to give ourselves more of a cushion to give our pitchers more breathing room." The Quakers' defense betrayed them as errors plagued the fielders. Sophomore Suzanne Arbogast was solid on the mound but received no help as all five of Drexel's runs were unearned. Penn, trailing 4-1, had a chance to gain some ground in the top of the fifth when Kari Dennis came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. Dennis swung and the ball dropped right in front of the plate. The catcher grabbed it, stepped on home plate and fired to first but Dennis was safe. Freshman Quaker Vicki Frondozo took a wide turn at third but beat the throw back to the bag. Lauren Mishner, however, was heading to third and got caught in a run down. Frondozo darted for home, but the umpire claimed Mishner was tagged out before Frondozo crossed the plate, ending the inning. Despite a furious protest by Kashow, the run was discounted. "No matter what the score was we didn't play well," captain Sheryl Fodera said. The Red and Blue came out strong in the second game behind freshman pitcher Lee Pepe. Pepe went the distance for the Quakers though taking the "L" in the complete game loss. "The defense was really great behind me today," Pepe said. "We just need to get those key hits together. I did my best out there going seven innings." Although the defense was perfect in the field, Penn was unable to convert at the plate, scattering eight hits over seven innings. The Quakers' lone run came in the top of the third on an RBI groundout by Mishner which sent runners to second and third. Dennis then flied out to center and both runners tagged up. The umpires ended another inning when Frondozo was called out at third before Sara Atwater crossed the plate. The call drew yet another outburst from Kashow. After Drexel tied it up in the bottom of the third, Penn came to bat with yet another good scoring opportunity. With one out and last year's batting champion Fodera at the plate, Michelle Zaptin tried to go to third on a pitch in the dirt. Zaptin slid as the third basemen slapped down the tag, appearing to hit Zaptin's thigh after her foot had reached the base. But Zaptin was called out on the play and the Quakers were held scoreless once again. The path from Kashow's coaching box to the umpires was worn down even further as the Penn coach took up another futile attempt to appeal the call. A generous share of expletives could be heard coming from the Quakers' bench. The game ended in a heartbreaking manner for Penn as the second Drexel run was plated in the bottom of the seventh when a passed ball, with the bases loaded and one out, brought a runner home. "We've shown that we can come back," Fodera said. "Now we just need to come out with the intensity that we have in the second game at the beginning and not take a whole game to warm up." A long day for the Quakers in the field, at the plate and on the basepaths resulted in two more losses, making that five of their last six. Penn is looking forward to this weekend as it opens the Ivy League season with twin bills against Cornell Saturday and Columbia Sunday, both at 1 p.m. at Warren Field.