Improved hitting and pitching have Softball winning

With Sunday's 9-3 win over Rider, the Penn softball team finished the day above .500 for the first time in coach Carol Kashow's two-year tenure at Penn. After starting last season 0-8, the Quakers never came closer than five games from the .500 plateau. This weekend, the Quakers (8-7) look to continue their winning ways in doubleheaders against Delaware and Wagner. Last season Penn did not play Wagner and split with the Blue Hens. The Quakers dropped the opener of the doubleheader 4-0 but bounced back in the nightcap with a 3-1 win. The victory was junior pitcher Suzanne Arbogast's fifth of the '98 season. If she defeats Delaware again this season, it will, yet again, be her fifth win of the season. "Sue pitches well when she's mixing her pitches and throws them hard," Kashow said. "She likes to throw a rise ball, which you have to throw hard or the ball just hangs up there." · Penn's offense has been rejuvenated this season, as the Quakers' are hitting .276 through their first 15 games. Last year, Penn hit just .211. "We're just looking for good at-bats from everyone," Kashow said. "For example, on Sunday, Jaime Hojdila --batting in the two spot -- had a perfect bunt to move the runner over [to second base]. There are five more ways of scoring a runner from second base than first base." With all the added production, many Quakers are on record-setting paces this season. Both freshman third baseman Jen Moore and senior shortstop Sherryl Fodera are on pace to break the single-season Penn record for runs batted in. The record was set by Fodera in her sophomore season when she drove in 25 runs. Currently Fodera leads the team with 13 RBIs and Moore has 12, putting them both on track to surpass 30 for the season. "It stems from hard work in the off-season," Kashow said. "We're more comfortable in the batter's box from working so hard." Another Penn mark that may be broken is the record for runs in a single season. In 1980, Sharon Gross scored 27 times for the Red and Blue. Both Fodera and freshman outfielder Clarisa Apostol have 11 runs scored and are on pace to finish the season with 29. · Another area of improvement for Penn is its pitching depth. Last season Arbogast accounted for seven of the team's 10 wins, leaving the rest of the pitching staff with a combined three wins. This season, Penn has found itself a suitable second starter. While Arbogast has continued to pitch well, junior outfielder and pitcher Michelle Zaptin has already won four games for the Quakers, including a 3-0 shutout against La Salle last weekend. "[Pitching depth] is very important because you feel like you don't have to carry the load yourself, so you can go out and throw your own game," Kashow said. "Then you don't have to worry about the next game and you can focus on getting one game done at a time." · Although Penn's team batting average is 27 points higher than the opponents -- .276 compared to .249 -- the Quakers' on base percentage is lower. Penn batters reach base 34.8 percent of the time, whereas the opposition is at 35.7 percent. This discrepancy exists because Penn pitchers have walked 16 more batters and opposing batters have been hit by three more pitches. "We walked a fair amount of people in Florida," Kashow said. "We played one doubleheader where we walked 13 people. We haven't walked nearly as many lately. "We are always going to have some walks, so I just tell my players it's not the first 60 feet that count, but the last 60 feet." On a positive note, the opposition's average of .249 against the Quakers is much improved from last year's Penn opponent's average of .301.

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