With a pitching staff that is just three deep, the Penn softball team is forced to hold its breath every time a doubleheader rolls around.
But after a two-game sweep of Lafayette yesterday, the Quakers can exhale.
Freshman Emily Denstedt gave up just one run in a complete-game three-hitter, and junior Olivia Mauro followed up that performance with a three-hitter of her own, going 6 and 2/3 innings as the Quakers took the two games 6-1 and 7-2.
Penn pitchers held the Leopards (6-11) to a mere .122 batting average and struck out eight in the two games.
After a recent injury to sophomore pitcher Michelle Rehm, the Quakers staff has been spread thin. But that made yesterday's victories all the more special for Penn (7-12).
"I think it's sort of a surprise [to be one of three pitchers]," Mauro said. "We wouldn't throw seven-inning games; we'd throw four or five innings here and there.
"I think we realize the situation, and we're going to have to do that."
Yesterday was a good first step for Penn's hurlers, who gave their offense some room to have an off-night.
Not that they needed it.
The Quakers batted .352 and crushed four home runs over the two games, including a monster shot by junior catcher Brandi King that towered over the 200-foot marker in left field.
"People told me it went over the second fence; ... I didn't hear any squealing tires, so no one will ever know" if the ball reached the nearby highway, King joked.
Such was the post-game atmosphere among the Red and Blue -- relaxed, perhaps, because the sweep takes some of the burden of a 1-12 skid off of Penn's shoulders.
The Quakers hope that the wins will give them some momentum as the Ivy season approaches.
"I think we'll re-boost our confidence and know that we can do it," King said. "We just need all the pieces to come together."
Even after a pair of dominant outings by Penn starters, it is still clear that there aren't a whole lot of pieces that the Quakers' pitching staff has to work with.
They'll still have to rely on a small amount of people to carry much of the load.
But yesterday, the Red and Blue took a step toward making it work.
"The pitch staff has been depleted a little bit with injuries, so it was really nice to go the distance," Denstedt said.
"But I know if I hadn't been able to go the distance, [Mauro] and Lindsey [Permar] would've come in and we would've made it happen."
