Off to its best start in a very long time, the Penn softball team isn't letting two losses to Lehigh get it down.
"Our focus has always been on league play so we're not dwelling on the games from Tuesday," head coach Leslie King said. "We're really excited for this weekend."
And the Quakers (12-8, 4-0 Ivy) will get their helping of Ivy competition, playing Harvard (9-7) on Saturday and Dartmouth (4-15) on Sunday after enduring consecutive doubleheaders on Saturday, Sunday and Monday of this week.
A bright spot from the Lehigh losses, though, was the team's defense. The Quakers allowed only one error in each game and senior Kaelin Ainley noticed the improvement, saying the defense "was looking awesome."
Ainley felt that Lehigh, a competitive team, helped prepare the Quakers for their upcoming Ivy foes.
"Harvard is off to a pretty good start and [Shelly Madick] is throwing really well," King said of the team's first opponent.
Madick was named Ivy Pitcher of the Week and outfielder Stephanie Krysiak earned Rookie of the Week honors for Harvard last week.
Last year, in the team's final weekend, the Red and Blue took a combined three out of four on the road from the Crimson and the Big Green.
"Sometimes being on the road can get you away from distractions on campus with classes, projects and friends," King said. "When you're on the road, you're all together as a group and I think it's easier for the kids to focus on what we need to do."
Ainley, who hit a grand slam in her last game against Lehigh, isn't worried about playing on the road either, citing the team's Florida road trip where the team broke even with a 5-5 record.
After letting Lehigh take quick leads in both games, the team hopes to prevent that this weekend.
The team needs to "recognize during the games early on where their strengths are and trying to prevent them from getting a lead, getting on base," Ainley said.
However, if the team does give up an early lead, at least it can harbor some hope to get back in it. Penn has come-from-behind victories against Delaware (twice) and Columbia already on its resume.
Dartmouth is on an eight-game losing streak and hopes to change its luck when it kicks off its Ivy season against Columbia on Saturday. The Big Green are very young and inexperienced, with only one senior on the roster.
The team plays doubleheaders against Harvard at 1 p.m. at Soldiers Field on Saturday and Dartmouth at noon on Sunday.
