Softball routed, then ties 'Nova on main Line

Penn was ahead in the nightcap, but Villanova tied it up as darkness arrived. This has been a season of streaks for the Penn softball team. And, right now, the Quakers are on a cold streak. After winning four straight over La Salle and Lafayette last weekend, Penn (8-13-1) is now winless in its last four contests. Penn was shut out yesterday afternoon at Villanova in the opener of a doubleheader, 9-0, and tied the Wildcats, 5-5, in the nightcap as the game was called in the bottom of the fifth due to darkness. The first game was lost from the get-go as the Quakers came out flat, giving up five first-inning runs to host Villanova. It was a lead that the Wildcats would never relinquish. "We came out kind of shaky and let the first game slip away after the first inning," Penn freshman shortstop Crista Farrell said. The first-inning onslaught came against freshman pitcher Becky Ranta, who has been the Quakers' ace and was just named to the Ivy League honor roll this week. The Wildcats, however, took no notice of Ranta's prior accomplishments as they roughed her up for five runs on seven hits. Fellow Penn freshman Dina Parise had no better luck at stopping 'Nova, giving up four runs in 4 1/3 innings. The game was called in the sixth inning due to the eight-run mercy rule. Offense was also lacking for the Quakers in the opener. Sophomore second baseman Molly Meehan collected Penn's lone hit off the stellar pitching duo of Carrie Walpole and Faith Meisinger. Part of the reason for Penn's lack of offensive production was the umpire's rather large and unorthodox strike zone. But the Quakers would not use this as an excuse, as the strike zone was the same on both sides. "The umpire was calling a lot of inside pitches for strikes -- it was a kind of unexpected strike zone," third basemen Jen Moore said. "But Villanova pitched a really good game, and we should have been swinging." Another possible reason for Penn's unimpressive performance was the absence of two starters -- second baseman Jamie Pallas and left fielder Clarisa Apostol. The two sophomores took the game off to attend the funeral of friend and College junior Justin Finalle, who committed suicide this past weekend. Nevertheless, the Quakers are still very disappointed with their performance. "They hit the ball, and we didn't and our fielders did not do a good job," Moore said. "It was a disappointing game." But while Penn seemed to give up in the first game, they made quite a game out of the nightcap. The Penn bats finally got rolling in the third inning, as the Quakers brought home four runs to break the scoreless tie. Freshman left fielder Deb Kowalchuk got the rally going with a one-out single. After a Farrell sacrifice and a passed ball, Moore drove home Kowalchuk with her team-leading eighth double of the season. Freshman Heidi Albrecht followed with a single to score Moore, and, two batters later, freshman catcher Dani Landolt drove in two more with another base hit. The Quakers extended their lead to five in the fourth with another Moore RBI, but the Wildcats came right back. They scored twice in both the fourth and fifth innings to pull to within 5-4. With the Quakers leading by one run in the bottom of the sixth inning, the game got interesting. Darkness was fast approaching, and many of the Quakers had trouble seeing the ball. "You need light entering your eyes to react," Moore said. In a valiant attempt to preserve its one-run lead before the game was called, Penn coach Carol Kashow changed pitchers twice, putting in Parise for senior captain Suzanne Arbogast, who gave up four runs and six hits through five innings, before putting Arbogast back in the game. But the Quakers could not hold off the Wildcats late-inning rally as Villanova benefited from a game-tying walk off Arbogast. As soon as the game was knotted at five, the umpires decided to call the game, leaving Villanova with the bases loaded and one out. Despite the late Wildcat come-back, Penn was still pleased with the game. "We played a lot better and showed a lot of character coming back in the second game," Moore said. The Quakers will look to get back to inscribing the winning side of the ledger when they square off this weekend against Temple and Army.