In getting two wins over Columbia this weekend, freshman Jessie Lupardus did not just shatter the program mark for victories and strikeouts in a single season: She also won more games (19) than any Penn softball team did from 1974-2006.
It was all part of a record-setting weekend for the Quakers. They won all four games against the Lions by a combined 42-12 margin - besting last year's 23 wins to establish a new all-time high of 26.
Saturday's games finished 6-3 and 13-5; Sunday's were 12-0 (mercy-induced) and 11-4.
And while the underclassman finished her march on history from the circle - "to have a hand in that many of our victories speaks volumes for her impact on our team," coach Leslie King said - it was the graduating seniors who sparked the offensive onslaught.
Columbia's starting pitcher failed to make it out of the first inning in the final three contests of the four-game set. The Quakers plated 17 runs in those three opening frames.
Shortstop Christina Khosravi was 5-for-12 with eight runs batted in, but she was still outshone by her double-play partner, Annie Kinsey.
Kinsey said she was unsure whether this was the best weekend of her career. But it's hard to imagine a more impressive performance: She was 10-for-13 - including 9-for-9 in the final three games - with eight RBI, eight runs scored and three long balls.
Two of those came off of freshman Erica Clauss, who allowed seven earned runs in 1.1 innings.
"I don't want to say anything bad about her, obviously, but it was pretty easy to read," Kinsey said. "She didn't have much velocity, and I didn't see much movement."
Kinsey did it with the glove, too. In the first inning of game two yesterday, she caught a liner and doubled off the runner for the inning-ending double-play. A similar thing had happened in game one; then, it was a line-drive bunt to first base.
"Making those key defensive plays really gave us the momentum today," King said, calling them the weekend's two turning points.
Kinsey said she was only mildly frustrated that the clutch hitting did not come earlier, in time for a late postseason push.
"We were seeing better pitching against other teams, so it's hard to say that if we had been swinging the bats we would have had the same results," she said.
Kinsey is off to New York, seeking a day job instead of a softball career overseas. But as the Quakers bid adieu to their captains and offensive leaders, they're glad that at least Lupardus will have three more years under her belt.
After all, King predicted yesterday that 20-25 victories was definitely within her reach. Not bad for a program that had never seen a 14-game winner before.
