Softball faces winnable Ivy doubleheaders

The Quakers visit Yale and Brown with a .500 Ivy season in their sights. While the Penn softball team is out of the running for the Ivy League championship, the Quakers still have much to play for in their final six games. Penn needs just two wins to finish with the most victories in a season since 1981. And the Quakers (13-18, 2-6 Ivy League) can also even their record in the Ancient Eight with a pair of doubleheader sweeps on the road this weekend against Yale and Brown. "It's great that at the end of the season there's still so much that we can control [and] so much we can accomplish," Penn senior shortstop Sherryl Fodera said. The Quakers are a game ahead of both of this weekend's Ivy League opponents, Yale (21-17-1, 1-5) and Brown (8-24, 1-5), in the league standings. The Quakers will be at Yale's Central Avenue Field at 1 p.m. tomorrow and Brown's Erickson Athletic Complex at the same time on Sunday. Last year, Penn was outscored by a combined 29-4 margin against the Elis and Bears but the Quakers proved last Sunday against Dartmouth that they can beat Ivy foes; Penn swept a doubleheader against the Big Green for their first league wins since the 1997 season. Location may play a factor in the doubleheader against Yale, however. The Elis have posted a record of 11-3-1 at Central Avenue Field while going 10-14 away from New Haven, Conn. Unlike most teams Penn has played against this season, Yale is a running team. The Elis have 58 stolen bases as a team -- 20 each by shortstop Kathy Ching and outfielder Monica Lebron. "We worked hard with pitchers this year to get ahead in the count to prevent a hit and run or steal opportunity," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "Hopefully we can get ahead of the count [against Yale] and make it hard for them to run." After the weekend's Ivy excursion to New England, the Quakers head home to take on a tough St. Joseph's team at Warren Field at 3:30 p.m. on Monday. "By the time we get back [on Sunday night] it could be 1:00 in the morning," Penn third baseman Jen Moore said. "That could be tough for us to play [Monday] afternoon." St. Joseph's (24-22-1) is led by its star pitcher-outfielder Christina Kowalski. The Hawks junior has earned a 14-7 record on the mound with a 1.53 ERA and also pitched a perfect game earlier this year against Rhode Island. Kowalski is dangerous with the bat as well, hitting .328 with five homers and 25 RBIs. The doubleheader on Monday will mark the final time seniors Fodera and Narda Quigley will be in Quakers uniforms. While Fodera has started every game for Penn this season, Quigley has just four hits in her four years as a Quaker. Although she usually only sees action as a pinch-runner, Quigley is one of the most inspirational players on the team. "I think if you cut her she would bleed red and blue," Kashow said. "And her heart is as big as a softball field." Fodera, who has been Quigley's roommate for the past three years, agrees. "She has this aura about her that makes people want to be around her," Fodera said. But it is not likely that Quigley will get extended playing time in the final six games. Kashow does not like to change her "best 10 people start" policy, especially considering the milestones the Quakers can reach. "We talked about how the Ivy League situation was very similar to the Florida situation for us," Kashow said. "We had dug ourselves a hole in Florida -- we were only 2-5 with three games left. We're in the same situation in the Ivies -- two wins and six losses with four more games to play." Penn won its last three on the Florida spring break trip to finish at .500 for the trip. A similar finish to the Ivy season -- four wins against Yale and Brown -- would allow the Quakers to do something they have not done since 1984: finish at .500 in the Ivy League.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.