Softball gets first wins over tough Ivy rivals in years

Penn had not beaten Cornell or princeton in its seniors' careers. Heading into this weekend, Penn seniors Michelle Zaptin, Suzanne Arbogast and Kari Dennis had never been able to defeat either Princeton or Cornell in their collegiate softball careers. In fact, it had been eight and five years, respectively, since the Quakers had been able to muster up wins against these two Ivy powerhouses. But in the final homestand of the season and the last in the career of Penn's three graduating seniors, the Quakers came away with dramatic come-from-behind victories over both Princeton and Cornell, recording two splits and picking up their first two Ivy League wins on the season. "I'm quite proud of my team," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "Both of our wins were come-from-behind victories. We faced adversity, but that didn't stop us. We're growing up a little and maturing." The Quakers' success began on Friday afternoon at Warren Field when they squared off against Princeton. Penn (13-24-1, 2-6 Ivy League) scored three times in the sixth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit and come away with a 3-1 victory over the Tigers (17-19, 6-2). The game was scoreless through the first four innings as pitchers Penn freshman Becky Ranta and Princeton senior Sarah Peterman cruised. The Tigers, who had not lost an Ivy League game prior to this weekend, drew first blood in the fifth with an RBI single from second baseman Mackenzie Forsythe. But Penn fought right back in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore left fielder Clarisa Apostol led off the inning with a walk, which was followed by a bunt single from freshman shortstop Crista Farrell. Sophomore third baseman Jen Moore then tied the game with an RBI single to right before the Quakers took the lead after freshman designated player Heidi Albrecht and right fielder Deb Kowalchuk were hit by pitches in consecutive at-bats. Moore scored and made the score 3-1 after an error by Princeton shortstop Kim Veenstra. Ranta, who gave up one run on five hits, got the complete game victory to give the Quakers their first win over Princeton in 16 games. "When the catcher caught the last out of the game, that is something that can never be taken away from you," Kashow said. "For the kids, it's a huge thing." The strong play and the excitement, however, did not carry over into the second game against the Tigers. Princeton sophomore pitcher Brie Galicinao completely shut down Penn, as she tossed her first career perfect game and carried the Orange and Black to an 8-0 victory. The clear-cut MVP of the game, Galicinao was not only perfect on the mound, but was also impressive at the plate, going 3-for-3 and scoring a pair of runs. The Red and Blue returned to action yesterday against defending Ivy League champion Cornell. But the Quakers once again showed that they were undaunted by the competition, as they picked up a come-from-behind, extra-inning 5-4 win in the opener. Penn trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning before scoring twice to send the game into extra innings, capped off by a Moore sacrifice fly. The Quakers then got the victory with two outs in the bottom of the 10th when Apostol singled home freshman catcher Dani Landolt. Ranta got her second win in three days as she pitched all 10 innings, improving to 9-9 while recording her team-high 11th complete game. But the Quakers once again could not keep the momentum rolling as they were shut out by Cornell freshman Andrea Carrol, who tossed a six-hitter to lead the Big Red to a 7-0 whitewash in the nightcap. The doubleheader against the Big Red was, in fact, nearly a spitting image of the twin bill against Princeton. In both cases, Penn picked up dramatic wins over teams they have historically struggled against in the opener before getting shut out in the nightcap. "We're sort of like a butterfly coming out of a caterpillar," Kashow said. "We're starting to grow, emerge and show our wings." The victories were especially important for Penn's three seniors, who played in their final game at Warren Field yesterday. "My four years have gone by really fast, and I'm sad that this is the last game that we'll ever play here," senior captain Zaptin said. "But it felt really good to beat Princeton Friday, and taking one from Cornell is very exciting."