In spirit of Penn Relays, Blue Hens run

It's not every day you see blue hens running laps around a softball field. Last night at Warren Field, however, the Delaware Blue Hens were hoofing it after their doubleheader with Penn. After handling the Quakers, 11-1, in the first game, Delaware trailed the entire second game and lost 7-6. The loss dropped the Blue Hens -- who were forced to run laps after per coach Bonnie Jill Ferguson's orders -- to 19-20. Penn raised its record to 14-27 with the nightcap win and was just a little more spirited than its rivals to the south. "It was a big win for us, and it was good to score seven runs," Penn junior third baseman Jen Moore said. "We haven't scored a lot of runs in the past few games." Penn's offense, which produced a four-run second inning, carried the Quakers to victory in the second game. "We hit the ball hard in the beginning of the second game," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "It's the first time we've done that early in a game in a long time." It was a breakout day for Moore. Along with hitting her second home run of the year in the third inning, she was the only Penn player to score in the first game and ended the day 3-for-6 with three runs and two RBIs. "I haven't been on for a while, so it felt good to hit that home run," Moore said. Penn freshman Erin O'Brien, who was 4-for-6 on the day, got things started in the second game with an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning. Penn's offense got hot in the second, stringing together three hits and bringing four runners across the plate. Penn sophomore outfielder Deb Kowalchuk, who filled in for starting catcher Dani Landolt behind the plate in the second game, hit a double to left field to score Lindsay Wagner and Clarisa Apostol. Delaware got four runs back in the third off Penn starting pitcher Becky Ranta. Penn's offense came right back, however, with the two-run blast from Moore, scoring what would be the winning runs. Delaware scored one run each in the sixth and seventh innings, but Ranta forced a pop up that landed in second baseman Jamie Pallas' glove, ending the game with the tying run left on second. "We made it as close as possible, but we found a way to win," Kashow said. "Ultimately that's what we need to do." Ranta recorded her seventh victory of the season for the Quakers, allowing nine hits and two earned runs in her 15th complete game of the season. "Becky did a great job keeping the ball low," O'Brien said. "We got our momentum up, and everyone was in the game. We were all happy and had a positive attitude." Penn's offense couldn't muster the same type of success in the opening game of the doubleheader, however. And Penn freshman starting pitcher Nicki Borgstadt struggled from the mound as well. She was stung for seven runs on eight hits by the Blue Hens in the second inning alone. Delaware never looked back, scoring four more runs in the sixth to defeat Penn by the 10-run mercy rule. "Mostly the game surprised me," Kashow said. "At times during the season she has gotten hit a little bit, but overall she has really done a nice job for a freshman. "She gave up one big inning, but even in the inning only one of the runs was earned. She showed great poise in coming back after that." Blue Hens senior starting pitcher Susan Dugan improved her record to 12-6, allowing only one run on six hits. She was called on again in the second game to bail out Cariello, and responded by pitching three innings of shutout ball. Penn's defense was shaky at times yesterday, but they managed to provide the support that Ranta needed to notch the win. They continued to play with a shuffled lineup in the wake of shortstop Crista Farrell's ankle injury. Veronica Richardson played solid defense at shortstop in Farrell's absence. Also moving was Kowalchuk from the outfield to behind the plate. Utility player Erica Miller started again at first base. "I think that it shows that our ballplayers are, in fact, ballplayers and athletes," Kashow said. The Quakers will need all their resiliency this weekend when they take on Princeton in their final Ivy League doubleheader of the season.

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