Watching Jessie Lupardus dominate hitters now, it's hard to imagine that just four months ago they were dominating her.
"I gave up five earned runs, a lot of hits, and it was really a wake-up call," Lupardus said of her first fall exhibition game.
"In the offseason I worked my butt off, and being able to come out and show that I am the anchor of the staff is something that is really important to me."
But in this afternoon's doubleheader against La Salle (9-15), the Quakers (14-8, 3-1 Ivy) may not be able to rely on their anchor, who is 12-2 with a 0.69 earned run average.
If Lupardus is tired or sore from the 18 innings she pitched in three games last weekend against Yale and Brown, coach Leslie King won't use her against the Explorers, saving her for the weekend doubleheaders against Harvard and Dartmouth.
Lupardus felt fine as of Monday, and if her arm feels the same today she will likely pitch, although only one game. That would leave the other contest to the rest of Penn's staff.
With an ERA of 4.01, they have yet to show any consistency - or pick up a win.
Junior Emily Denstedt, who is battling knee and back injuries, has yet to return to her form from last season when she was the staff's ace. Freshmen Taylor Tieman and Tory Satagaj have mainly pitched in relief this season.
"Jessie has been a great force on the mound, and hopefully the other girls are looking at her and pushing themselves to be just as good," said senior shortstop and tri-captain Christina Khosravi, who's leading Penn with a .386 average and five home runs.
Over the weekend, the Quakers split a doubleheader against Yale and swept Brown in their inaugural Ivy play of the season. That was their first doubleheader sweep of the year.
"We were able to break this horrible pattern we've had, so I think we're all pretty much elated right now, and now that we know we can do it, we're all just hungry for more," Lupardus said.
Penn shouldn't have too much trouble against the La Salle pitchers, whose combined ERA is 5.47. The Explorers are coming off a split against St. Louis.
Sixteen of the Quakers' 24 remaining games are against Ancient Eight competitors, so this non-league game is the perfect time for Lupardus' fellow pitchers and Khosravi's fellow hitters to step up. King feels that her young team, still adjusting, has yet to peak.
"I still don't feel like we've hit our stride with everybody producing at the same time," King said.
The biggest barrier to that goal is what Lupardus calls her team's collective mindset: "Not letting one mistake lead to another, just erasing that and approaching each at-bat fresh and having the mentality that you're going to do it yourself."
