A life of Softball and Swahili

This might be the Ivy League, but it's doubtful that many students are as well-versed as Becky Ranta. Ranta, a College sophomore, is currently in her fourth semester of learning Swahili, a language primarily spoken in Sub-Saharan Africa. She insists that her original interest in simply meeting a collegiate requirement has evolved into a passion of hers. "My sister went to Africa for her junior year abroad and she came back and got me very interested in Africa and African culture," Ranta said. "I just thought this kind of made sense." But when she's not in the classroom studying this foreign dialect, Ranta concentrates on her other passion. You see, the Greenwich, Conn., native also happens to be the ace of the Penn softball team's pitching staff. Balancing the two acts has actually resulted in conflicts at times. Since demand for Swahili courses is relatively low, the class Ranta takes in her proficiency level only meets on Monday and Wednesday nights. But the Penn softball team often plays doubleheaders on Wednesdays. The Quakers' hurler, therefore, is forced to sometimes leave after pitching the first game of a twinbill in order to make her class. But despite the conflict of scheduling, Ranta has performed well this season and seems to have embraced her leadership position on the team. Though only a sophomore, Ranta was placed in this role because the Quakers do not have a single senior on their roster and feature only a two-player rotation on the mound. Following some early-season struggles in Florida over spring break, Ranta has pitched very strongly lately. "After Florida, I've definitely gotten my head back into it," she said. "I'm much more focused and driven." Ranta currently boasts a record of 5-9, but the numbers can be misleading. Many of those losses were accumulated during Penn's 4-10 Florida trip. Her earned run average of 5.23 was also inflated somewhat by the team's play in its Orlando and Tampa tournaments and has decreased over recent weeks. "I think that Becky has found the difficulty of going the second time around this year," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "But she has come up with some nice wins and some very well-thrown games." Ranta's most praiseworthy accomplishment thus far in the 2001 season came when she completely shut down Lafayette in a road game on March 23. Ranta tossed a one-hit shutout against the Leopards en route to a 4-0 victory. In that game, even the one hit she surrendered was controversial, and some left the field that day thinking that they had just witnessed a no-hitter. Ranta's ability is not in question, and her laid-back style on the field has made for a successful Penn career. "I would describe Becky as relaxed. That's one of her strengths on the mound," Penn co-captain Clarisa Apostol said. "I think she can beat anyone in the Ivies. She's definitely talented enough." One aspect of this year's Penn squad that Ranta greets with a mixed reaction is the fact that the Quakers really only have two pitchers on the team -- freshman Nicki Borgstadt makes up the other half of the duo. Ranta indicated that fatigue might eventually be a factor as the season pushes on, but there are benefits to Penn's situation as well. "Nicki and I have a hard job to do. It's hard not to have a reliever," the sophomore said. "But the fear of being taken out is not there." And Ranta does usually go the distance, as she has pitched 11 complete games so far this year. The Quakers hurler, however, has had a bit of trouble in the early part of games this season -- but her teammates have worked with her recently to help their star pitcher overcome this problem. Ranta and Kashow devised a system in which she pitches to teammates Deb Kowalchuk, Lindsay Wagner and Apostol before the contest begins. This additional practice in game-like conditions has greatly helped Ranta. "We've done it for about two weeks now," she said. "It just helps me get more warmed up." Ranta has steadily improved her pitching and is looking toward even brighter things ahead -- beginning with this weekend at Brown and Yale. "Tutachucheza wachezo wa softball wikiendi hii," she said. That's Swahili for, "We will win the softball games this weekend."

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