Softball freshman Taylor Tieman knew that college was a place to try new things. But she didn't think that would apply on the field, too. A pitcher in high school, Tieman has seen most of her action at third base for the Quakers.
This weekend, the team will need relief from her right arm - along with solid infield play and offensive production - if it wants to emerge victorious in its first Ivy League games.
Penn (11-7) will host doubleheaders against Yale (10-8) tomorrow and Brown (5-6) on Sunday.
Coming off of two disappointing losses in a doubleheader against Lehigh, the Quakers believe that Tuesday's performance was a fluke.
"We know that what happened was kind of a meltdown," Penn coach Leslie King said. "I feel very strongly that it won't happen to this team again."
In order for it to be avoided, Penn needs to find a winning combination among its four pitchers - freshman ace Jessie Lupardus, junior starter Emily Denstedt, and freshmen relievers Tieman and Tory Satagaj.
King revealed that Denstedt is battling injury and has been practicing very little as a result. Denstedt has a 1-4 record with a 4.01 earned run average. Last season, she finished 13-9 with a 2.44 ERA.
"She's going to try to bite the bullet and throw a little more in practice to try to get herself into a better place when she comes to throwing in games," King said.
The combination of Denstedt's injury problems and the team's thin roster means that Tieman enters every game not knowing whether she'll play third baseman, designated hitter or pitcher. At the plate, she has proved herself; on the mound, she is still adjusting to being a reliever.
"I think [my teammates] have confidence in me when I exude a certain amount of confidence," Tieman said. "[The responsibility] is on me to make them trust me and my stuff."
She enters this weekend hitting .265, and her .408 slugging percentage is third on the team behind the two seniors and former Ivy League Players of the Year. Two of the Quakers' five home runs this year belong to Tieman.
Yale will present quite a challenge to the Penn offense. Its pitching staff, composed of five reliable arms, has a combined 1.91 ERA thus far this season. Four of the five pitchers have tossed at least 15 innings, meaning the Quakers should expect a dominating performance from any of the Bulldogs on the mound. Yale is coming off of a doubleheader sweep of Army.
In their second year under head coach DeeDee Enabenter-Omidiji and with only 11 games under their belts, the Bears are more of an unknown to King and her team. Brown is coming off of two wins against Manhattan and Siena in Florida.
Regardless of the opponent, the Quakers know that their greatest enemy is themselves.
"We haven't gotten all of our aspects of play together," senior captain Annie Kinsey said. "I think that our focus will be to have all the components there. I'm pretty convinced that we're unbeatable if they're all there."
