The Penn women's softball team recovered from a slow start to grab fourth place in the Mizuno Bash at the Beach tournament this weekend at Lewes, Del.
After losing their first two contests, the Quakers (6-11) bounced back to win two of their final three games in the six-team tournament.
On Sunday, the Red and Blue defeated Delaware State, 5-3. Senior Erin O'Brien helped the team jump out to a lead with a three-run home run, her second of the tournament and fifth of the year.
"When Erin hits it, she hits it hard," Penn head coach Leslie King Moore said of the senior's ability with the bat.
The Quakers were able to hang on thanks to the late game heroics of senior Nicki Borgstadt. The Lenexa, Kan., native came in to preserve the lead, collecting her first save of the year.
Borgstadt turned in another fine performance in Penn's following game against Delaware. Unfortunately, the Quakers' bats once again fell silent, as they dropped the third-place game to the Blue Hens, 4-0.
Borgstadt allowed only one run through five innings, keeping the Quakers in the game until the final inning.
Her performance was even more remarkable considering the tumultuous weather conditions. Borgstadt battled a vicious wind that blew straight out from home, making routine pop-ups an adventure and lazy fly balls home runs.
However, Borgstadt ran into trouble in sixth, giving up a three-run home run that basically ended the Quakers' hopes of taking third place.
"Nicki made one bad pitch that game," Moore said. "Unfortunately, it was hit in the air, and the wind took care of the rest."
On Saturday, the Quakers collected their first win of the tournament with a 12-9 defeat of Stony Brook. O'Brien was once again the key to the offense, knocking a three-run home run in the first inning to help the Quakers to a 8-1 lead. After Stony Brook stormed back to within 10-8 in the fourth, the Quakers took control, adding two runs in the fifth.
Freshman Kaelin Ainley chipped in with four hits, driving in three runs while sophomore shortstop Jen Nichols provided stellar defense in the field. Both players were named to the All-Tournament team.
The first two games of the tournament were not so kind to the Quakers. The Red and Blue were simply outmatched by Providence and Syracuse, dropping the pair of games 9-0 and 13-1, respectively. The team collected only five hits combined.
Moore cited poor preparation for the team's early struggles. The Quakers spent most of the morning in vans making the long drive to Lewes, making it hard to get a proper warmup before facing tough competition.
"Providence and Syracuse are pretty tough division one programs," Moore said. "But we did bounce back from those games, so hopefully we learned from it."
The tournament represented another stepping stone for Moore and her team. The Quakers are remarkably young; six out of the 10 starters are freshmen, and underclassmen make up five out of the first six hitters in the lineup. But with youth comes inexperience and growing pains.
"A lot of our girls are learning on the job," Moore said. "Especially the pitchers. They are learning the difference between a mistake [pitch] in high school and a mistake in college."
With such a young team, each game represents a learning experience in itself. Their next game is no different, as the Quakers return home this week to take on Lafayette at Warren Field.
