The momentum from the Penn softball team's weekend trip to New York disappeared in the overcast skies yesterday at Warren Field.
In cold, drizzly conditions, Villanova swept the Quakers, 8-1 and 6-0, limiting the Red and Blue to only 11 hits on the day.
"We knew that Villanova was going to be a tough game," junior Nicole Borgstadt said. "They play in a tough conference."
In the first game, Penn was able to hold Villanova (22-11-1, 8-5 Big East) to one run on three hits in the first three innings behind senior pitcher Rebecca Ranta.
But the Wildcats blew the game open from there, scoring six runs in the next two innings.
In the fourth, Villanova's Kristin Strait hit an RBI single and Kriste Romano followed that with an RBI double.
That outburst was followed by a four-run 'Nova fifth. Kari Koller doubled and Jessie Olownia walked and advanced to second base on an errant throw. With two runners in scoring position, Penn coach Carol Kashow replaced Ranta with Gina Talley on the mound.
Koller then scored on a throwing error by Talley, and after a groundout and another walk, Villanova scored on three of its next four at-bats to put the game out of reach at 7-0.
"They hit the ball really well," Borgstadt said.
Penn (7-25-1, 1-9 Ivy League) managed a short-lived rally in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Crista Farrell hit a double to left field and scored off a Meghan Cowen single.
But Villanova pitcher Shannon Williams recovered quickly and struck out Erin O'Brien and Zahya Hantz in succession, then got Kimberly Le to pop out to shortstop Kristen Leese, ending a complete game six-hitter.
"Villanova has notoriously good pitching," senior Erica Miller said. "We didn't put the hits together."
In the second game, the Wildcats' pitching was again sharp. Theresa Hornick allowed five hits, all singles, in a complete-game shutout.
On the mound for the Quakers, Borgstadt kept the game scoreless until the fourth inning, when the Wildcats plated five runs, keyed by a two-run double by Sarah Wall. Freshman Marissa Brassfield surrendered the final run in the seventh inning.
"I had five really good innings and one really bad inning," Borgstadt said of her performance. "I am a little bit frustrated, but not too frustrated."
The outcome -- unlike the fans in attendance -- was unaffected by the wind and drizzle yesterday.
"There were a few innings when it was cold, but that didn't put either team out in any way," Miller said. "You have to take the weather out as a factor because both teams are experiencing it."
The Quakers intend to use yesterday's games as a learning experience as it prepares for its final Ivy League games of the season this weekend, at home against Harvard and Dartmouth.
"When you are playing a team that tough, you go out there with nothing to lose and you give it your best," Miller said. "The heart that we put in will carry over into this weekend."
