Softball loses 3-of-4 to New York Ivies

As the Penn softball team approaches its final week of what has been a difficult season, it can hang its hat on one thing. With a win at Columbia yesterday, the Quakers earned their third league victory of the spring, one more than they did a year ago. Yet the Red and Blue (13-26, 3-9 Ivy League) still dropped 9-1 and 7-0 decisions at Cornell (29-14, 11-3) in Ithaca on Saturday before splitting with Columbia (18-22, 4-10) in Manhattan yesterday. Penn took the opener, 2-0, and dropped the second game in eight innings, 2-1. Cornell, which yesterday clinched a share of the Ivy championship, completely overpowered the Quakers on Saturday. "I think all weekend we didn't hit the ball the way we're capable of," Penn co-captain Clarisa Apostol said. "[Cornell was] a good team, but the margin between our scores shouldn't have been that large." In the first game, Penn fell victim to the eight-run mercy rule. Penn freshman pitcher Nicki Borgstadt limited her opposition to four runs through the first 4 2/3 innings, but the Big Red proceeded to explode for five runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth to seal the game. Cornell used three home runs to defeat Penn in the opener, including a walk-off three-run blast by catcher Annette Sheppard in the fifth. The second game followed a similar pattern, with Cornell again jumping out to an early lead. Penn sophomore pitcher Becky Ranta surrendered four first-inning runs, capped by a three-run homer off the bat of third baseman Allison Batten. Penn's bats, meanwhile, just could not get started in either of Saturday's contests. The Quakers collected only four hits in the second game after tallying five in the first. "I think Cornell had girls that could hit for power all the way down the lineup," Quakers first baseman Erica Miller said. "[Penn] Coach [Carol Kashow] said that Cornell was looking for a reason to hit. They were going after a lot of first strikes and connecting." Miller served as the Red and Blue's starting first baseman in all four games last weekend, a variation necessitated by an ankle injury to shortstop Crista Farrell. Usual first baseman Veronica Richardson shifted to shortstop for the New York trip, while Miller stepped in at first. Despite the different look, the Quakers played four solid defensive games. "I think our defense adjusted nicely," Apostol said. "We had practiced Thursday and Friday with the changes." Still, Penn missed Farrell as a leader out on the field, as well as her presence in the lineup. "It was tough not having Crista out there," Miller said. "She's one of the anchors of this team." The Quakers were nonetheless able to secure a win at Baker Field yesterday behind some spectacular pitching from Borgstadt. The right hander went the distance, tossing a five-hit shutout. Penn designated hitter Lisa McNeeley drove in her squad's first run with an RBI single in the first inning, and Ranta -- who was pinch running at the time -- scored Penn's other run on a passed ball. Ranta, who then pitched the second game for Penn, also hurled a stellar game, but a lack of run support led to the Sunday split. "It would have been nice to have swept Columbia," Miller said. "And I think that if we had hit the way we're capable of hitting, we would have."

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