Softball gets burned twice by Dragons

Freshman Dina Parise lost a no-hit bid and the game in the nightcap as Penn's bats were silent. A Penn softball team that is struggling mightily to score runs ran into the last thing it needed to run into yesterday when the Quakers faced off against Drexel's excellent pitching staff. Drexel (11-12) used impressive outings by Laura Tynio and Lori Swanson to quiet the Quakers' bats and sweep the doubleheader. The Dragons won the first game easily, 4-1, and then outlasted Penn in a pitchers' duel, 1-0. In the first game, Swanson showed why she is the reigning America East pitcher of the year by tossing a brilliant game. In a dominating performance, Swanson struck out 13 Quakers, including, amazingly, the first eight Penn batters of the game en route to a two-hitter. "Lori Swanson is probably one of the best pitchers that we will face this season, and we just didn't adjust," Penn sophomore Jen Moore said. "She's definitely a good pitcher, but that shouldn't happen where we get dominated like that." For Penn, freshman hurler Becky Ranta pitched well, allowing only six hits and three earned runs in six innings. Penn's only scoring in the game took place in the fifth inning after a double by freshman Heidi Albrecht broke up Swanson's no-hit bid. Sophomore Lindsay Wagner, pinch running for Albrecht, advanced to third on a ground-out and scored courtesy of a wild pitch by Swanson. "I feel like we are kind of doubting ourselves," Moore said. "We do have a lot of talent, so we just need to play aggressively and believe in ourselves." In the second game, freshman Dina Parise of Penn -- in just her third career start -- pitched superbly and took a no-hitter into the seventh and final inning. In the seventh, the Dragons led off with a double by Kelly Donahue and eventually scored a run when Jodi Devine hit a clutch two-out double. The game went from a no-hit bid to a Parise loss in a matter of moments. "I was just trying to keep the ball down and get a grounder to the left side," Parise said. "But she managed to tap it over the fielder's head and that was the game." Despite taking a tough loss, Parise was pleased with an effort that saw her take a no-hitter into the last inning as a freshman and also saw her toss her first complete game. "I was feeling really good, and I finally stepped out onto the mound and said to myself that this was my game," Parise said. "I had been really nervous at the start of other games, but today everything came together and I pitched my best." The loss for Penn is the sixth consecutive and the ninth in the last 11 games. The Quakers have been plagued by an inability to consistently score runs over the last 16 games. Following an early season four-game winning streak that raised the team's mark to 8-10, Penn has gone 3-12-1. The Quakers have also scored a disappointingly low total of five runs over the last six contests. "It's frustrating because we know that we can pound teams offensively, but we're just not doing it," Parise said. "We need to bring all three aspects [pitching, hitting and defense] together and give 100 percent and then we'll get some wins." After a two-game hiatus from their Ivy League schedule, the Quakers will return to league play this Friday in a home doubleheader against Princeton. The Quakers, winless in four Ivy League contests, could have their hands full this weekend against a Tigers team that boasts a record of 4-0 in the Ivies. "We know how to hit. We do it everyday -- it's routine for us -- but we're just not executing and coming through in games," Moore said. "We look really good in warm-ups, but unfortunately that doesn't put a 'W' on the board. We know that we're capable of beating Princeton. We just need to come out aggressive and believe in ourselves."

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