Softball celebrates first Ivy 'W's

The Penn softball team swept Dartmouth yesterday to claim its first Ivy wins since 1997. The Penn softball team had been 0-18 in Ivy League games in coach Carol Kashow's two-year tenure. So Kashow's dignity did not seem to be in jeopardy when she told the team that she would do a "tripod" on the mound if the Quakers swept a doubleheader against Dartmouth yesterday. Four hours and two wins later, the Penn coach was head down on the pitcher's mound while her players cheered her on. "You'd think the excitement of the game would make them forget," Kashow said. "But I felt I did a pretty good tripod and that was good, but not as good as the doubleheader win. The Ivy monkey on our back just got off today." The Quakers (11-18, 2-6 Ivy League) had been swept in a doubleheader, 8-0 and 6-1, on Saturday at Warren Field by Harvard (14-14, 6-0). But with 6-5 and 2-1 home victories over the Big Green (10-19, 2-6) yesterday, Penn earned its first Ivy wins since April 27, 1997. The unlikely hero for the Quakers against Dartmouth was catcher Sarah Dominic. After starting for two years, the junior had lost her job to freshman Molly Meehan. But Kashow gave Dominic the start behind the plate yesterday, moving Meehan to second. "Our second baseman [Jamie Pallas] struggled in the games [on Saturday against Harvard] and didn't play hard," Kashow said. "So it was time to rattle the roost a little." The lineup switch could not have worked better for Penn. Meehan, though hitless at the plate, played a flawless second base. Dominic, meanwhile, had a three-run double in the third inning of the first game. Her blast over Dartmouth centerfielder Sarah Damon's head gave the Quakers a 6-3 lead. "[Big Green pitcher Laura Mills] gave me a good pitch to hit and I just hit it to center," Dominic said. "I've been hitting well in practice and I've been choking in the game so it's nice to go against another team and do something well." Pitcher Suzanne Arbogast had held the 6-3 lead for Penn until the final frame but the Quakers almost blew their chance to win. Dartmouth scored two in the seventh and had runners on second and third when Arbogast struck out Erica Morganstein for the final out of the game. Penn's offense, which scored six runs on eight hits in the first game yesterday, was not as potent in the second game. The Quakers were held to just two runs on three hits but they were still able to squeak by the Big Green. Key to the Penn win was a suicide squeeze by pinch hitter Kari Feinberg with two runners in scoring position in the fifth. Kashow's aggressive strategy worked perfectly as Zaptin slid by Dartmouth catcher Carrie Giugliano to score the first run of the game. "I was in the box right before the first pitch and Carol just said to be ready for the suicide," Feinberg said. "I knew that since I swung at the first pitch and fouled it off, they were going to back up on defense." Dominic, who had been on second when the squeeze was called, moved up to third and scored on an errant pickoff throw to give Penn a 2-0 lead. The way Quakers pitcher Michelle Zaptin had been pitching, the lead seemed safe. Through the first five innings, Zaptin did not allow a Dartmouth hit. But Big Green right fielder Kate Winter broke up the no-hitter in the sixth. She led off with a single and scored on Penn leftfielder Clarisa Apostol's misplay of a Carrie Hoverman single. Dartmouth would not have another baserunner in the game, however. Zaptin allowed just two hits in a seven-inning complete game victory. On Saturday, the Quakers lost a pair of games to the Crimson. In the first game, Harvard took advantage of five walks and three errors by Penn to invoke the eight-run mercy rule. The Red and Blue had opportunities to win the second game but left eight runners on base in a 6-1 loss. Penn outhit the Crimson 8-7 in that game. The lineup changes for the Quakers on Sunday altered Penn's fortunes, however. Kashow will not say whether the switches are permanent but the Penn coach is not likely to mess with the team's success in the upcoming games at Lafayette on Wednesday. "We just won two games in the Ivies for the first time in two years so it gives me a really good reason to put [Dominic and Meehan's] names in the lineup," Kashow said. "I always say, 'Give me a reason to put your name in the lineup.' Both Molly and Sarah gave me a reason."

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