Seven is often considered a lucky number, but not for the Penn women's softball team.
The Quakers dropped a doubleheader to Delaware yesterday, 2-1 and 4-1, extending their current losing streak to a season-long seven games.
The losses drop the Red and Blue to 10-27-1 on the year, while the Blue Hens improved to 21-17.
The first game was a familiar story for the Quakers this season. Solid pitching and timely hitting kept them in the game, but they suffered another one-run extra-inning loss.
Delaware's Laura Streets' RBI triple in the bottom of the eighth scored Michelle Plant from first base for the winning run, giving the Blue Hens the 2-1 victory.
The Red and Blue had jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third, when junior Zahya Hantz scored on an error.
But Delaware struck back to tie the game in the fourth. Penn freshman pitcher Lindsey Permar walked Streets to start the inning, then gave up a triple to Randi Isaacs. Permar, however, pitched out of the jam, as Isaacs was gunned down at the plate on an attempted squeeze play, keeping the game tied.
The Quakers offense, however, could not get much started the rest of the game. A potential rally in the sixth was killed when sophomore Meghan Cowen was caught stealing at second base.
Delaware's Carolynn Sloat scattered five hits across eight innings to get the win.
Permar pitched another strong game, giving up only two runs in seven-and-a-third innings while striking out five. The loss drops her to 7-11 on the year, despite a sparkling earned run average below 3.00 Permar, who set the Quakers' single season strikeout record this year, has been the victim of Penn's struggling offense many times.
Game two saw the Quakers take the lead again, only to see it slip away due to sloppy defense. Penn committed three errors in the nightcap, one of which opened the door for a four-run fifth inning by the Blue Hens that wound up being the difference.
That inning spoiled what was a fine performance by senior hurler Nicki Borgstadt, who gave up four runs through four-and-two-thirds, but only one of them earned.
The Red and Blue struck first in the third inning on a Teresa Leyden RBI single, scoring junior Kim Le from second.
The Quakers scored only two runs on seven hits on the day.
The Red and Blue finish up the Ivy League season with matchups against Columbia and Cornell this weekend. The Columbia game, however, will be played at Drexel's field on 43rd and Powelton Avenue instead of Warren Field.
Penn will then finish the year against Drexel on Monday, April 26.
