Softball hoping History doesn't repeat itself

Three out of 51.

That's Penn's record against rival Princeton since 1982, the year that the teams began playing one another.

If there was ever a time to begin making up such a monstrous deficit, this weekend's back-to-back doubleheader against the Tigers would be it.

The Quakers will travel across the Delaware on Saturday to take on the Ivy League's only untouched record left (12-0, 15-19 overall). Though it may seem like Princeton has the Quakers' number, the past few seasons have been a different story.

"Well, two of those three wins came last year," head coach Leslie King said. "We know that we can beat them."

Penn (20-16, 5-7 Ivy) comes into the weekend third in the Ivy League South, seven games behind first-place Princeton. After a sweep of Big 5 rival Villanova on Tuesday, the Quakers are hoping their success will continue against a team that boasts a potent hitting lineup.

Princeton sophomores Kelsey Quist and Jamie Lettire both boast a .365 batting average, and Quist's 11 home runs lead the team. Lettire is a double threat, as she is also the Tigers' top pitcher with a 3.24 earned run average and a 4-3 record.

Added to the mix is junior Kathryn Welch, who brings a .340 average and seven-game hit streak into the weekend.

"[These] three hitters can be extremely productive in the batting order," King said. "Our goal is to shut those three down."

The Tigers have played a difficult non-league schedule, traveling to California to compete against teams like Stanford, California-Berkeley and Wisconsin in different tournaments.

Princeton won't lack motivation either - if they win just one game this weekend, they will set a club record for most Ivy wins without a loss.

However, Penn tri-captain Christina Khosravi, who has a stellar .407 batting average and a .574 on-base percentage, may be a major roadblock to that mark. And if Lupardus can carry over her shutout success at Villanova to Princeton, the Quakers can certainly put up a fight.

"[The team] is feeling pretty confident," said King. "[The Tigers'] pitchers are good, but they're not anything that we can't cope with, in my opinion."

Lupardus will almost certainly see substantial time in the circle this weekend, and King will be counting on her freshman batters to step up and provide support to senior and leadoff hitter Annie Kinsey. And Taylor Tieman, who crushed the game-winning home run in game two of Tuesday's doubleheader, is looking to maintain her momentum.

Overall, King knows that the squads she has put together in recent years have the best chance of downing the Tigers.

"Motivating them to play Princeton is not a problem," she said. "The Princeton [that is] 'invincible' is no longer there, and we know we can beat them.

"There's nothing that would make us happier than to go over there and play spoilers."

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