Softball wins one of two at Lafayette

If any doubts remained about the abilities of Penn's revamped softball squad, they should be silenced by now.

The Quakers' have been impressive in comparison to the start of last season, and yesterday that surprising play continued.

In a doubleheader against a well-prepared Lafayette team at Patriots Park in Allentown, Pa., the Quakers earned a split, winning the first game comfortably, 8-4, and losing the second, 5-1.

The 9-11 Quakers are now just one win shy of their win total from last season, when they went 10-31-1.

Hitting well has powered the Quakers over many of their opponents, and it was certainly the case in the win against the Leopards in game 1.

"We hit the ball well and put a lot of pressure on them," coach Leslie Moore said.

Among the Quakers that hit well in the first game were sophomore Teresa Leyden, who went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and sophomore Kaelin Ainley, who went 2-for-3 with two runs scored as well.

Freshman Christina Khosravi continued to hit well also, going 2-for-3 in the win.

The drama came early for Penn. In the top of the third, the Quakers scored on a suicide squeeze, as freshman Annie Kinsey's bunt bought enough time for Ainley to sprint home and score the run. An error by Lafayette pitcher Megan Averbuch allowed Stephanie Reichert to score as well, and Kinsey advanced to third.

Fast base running as well as Leopards errors proved to be key components of Penn's success.

"We ran very well and they made quite a few errors," Moore said. "It worked very well for us."

But the Leopards appeared to learn from their errors in the first game, as they adjusted their defense and pitching in time for the second game of the doubleheader.

Lafayette started the game by scoring quickly, and had two runs on the board after just the first inning.

The Quakers' efforts were also compromised as they took until the fifth inning to adjust to the Leopards' pitcher, which dramatically slowed down their momentum at the plate.

"We didn't hit the ball well for the first part of the game," Moore said. "When we did start to adjust and hit the ball hard, they made several outstanding defensive plays."

In the end, the combination of the Leopards' timely hits and good defensive plays proved to be too much for the Quakers to overcome.

Junior Meghan Cowen, one of the team's three captains, was the only player to have multiple base hits in the second game. She went 2-for-3 in the game and 3-for-7 on the afternoon.

The Quakers' one run came in the top of the third inning when Ainley scored off a wild pitch by the Leopards' Lauren Belowich.

Moore attributed the loss to the Leopards' outstanding defensive efforts.

"We were hitting the ball very hard, but they were making some terrific plays," Moore said.

The Quakers are next in action tomorrow when they begin their Ivy League season at Princeton.

The Tigers are 17-7 on the year and are coming off a doubleheader sweep against Fairfield on Tuesday, which saw junior Erin Snyder throw a perfect game.

Snyder's effort marked the second straight year in which the Tigers pitched a no-hitter against the Stags.

Cali Varner did it last year.

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