(Penn - 3, Lehigh - 1) (Penn - 5, Lehigh - 15)
Heading into today's double-header, the Penn softball team desperately needed a win.
They were coming off yet another winless weekend, losing two games to both Dartmouth and Harvard, thus extending their losing streak to nine games.
They got the win they so badly needed.
The Quakers split the games with Lehigh, winning the early game, 3-1, and losing the nightcap, 15-5.
"It felt good to win," said Penn junior Deborah Kowalchuk. "We just went out there to play and did the best that we could."
The Quakers took an early lead, scoring two runs in the top of the second.
Penn freshman Courtney Dilts led off the inning with a single to left center and sophomore Veronica Richardson followed with a single of her own. Junior Danielle Landholt drove both runners in with a single later in the inning.
The Quakers put another run on the board in the top of the fifth when junior Christa Farrell doubled and crossed the plate off of Kowalchuk's single.
Kowalchuk went two for three in the game, bringing her batting average to .268.
This was the first game in weeks that the Quakers were able to connect with the ball and put runs on the board. The three runs scored in this game were more than the Red and Blue had earned in the past three games combined.
"We executed in the short game," Kowalchuk said. "And we got hits when we needed to get hits."
The Quakers headed into the second game with renewed morale and motivation. However, they were not able to transfer the emotional excitement into points on the board.
"We didn't come out in the first inning like we needed to." Kowalchuk said. "We just didn't connect when we needed to."
Lehigh took an early lead in the first inning when junior Stephanie Digneo scored on junior Jenny Bender's triple.
The Quakers' real trouble started in the third when Lehigh scored seven runs and earned seven hits.
Digneo went three for three for the day, including a triple, an RBI, and three runs scored.
After the dismal third inning, Penn attempted a rally, but it was not enough to bring home another win.
The Red and Blue launched a comeback in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs. Farrell led off the inning with a single. She and Kowalchuk scored when senior Jen Moore advanced to third on a base hit and two Mountain Hawk errors.
Lehigh answered right back with another high-scoring inning. The Mountain Hawks scored six more runs in the fourth, bringing the tally to, 15-3.
The Quakers were able to get two more runs in the fifth, but it was not enough. The mercy rule was invoked, ending the game after five innings.
Penn attributes its troubles in the field to the fact that sophomore pitcher Nicole Borgstadt was forced to start in both games of the doubleheader. The other starting pitcher, junior Becky Ranta, is injured and unable to play.
Borgstadt was eventually relieved by freshman Zahya Hantz, but it was not enough to revive the Quakers' game.
"She did a good job," Kowalchuk said. "But, it was too little, too late."
The Red and Blue will have another chance to improve their 12-27 record when they return to the diamond this Thursday to face Villanova in a doubleheader.
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