After a disappointing stretch of eight straight losses over the past week, the Penn softball team is looking to recover.
Yet the struggling Quakers (18-16, 5-7 Ivy) won't get much of a reprieve with a doubleheader today against the Wildcats.
"I don't know a lot about Villanova," Penn coach Leslie King said. "They're a Big East team, so it's going to be another challenge for us, another difficult doubleheader. But we'll give it all we got."
The Wildcats (15-17-1) may have a roster that is more familiar to Penn's players.
"I know [Villanova starter] Kat Walsh, she's from my area," said senior captain and West Hills, Calif., native Annie Kinsey.
"She's a good pitcher, a rise ball pitcher. I know their coach [Maria DiBernardi] likes to win, so she always fields a good team."
Kinsey slugged two home runs against Cornell on Sunday, giving her a Penn-record 20 longballs for her career.
Villanova's offense, meanwhile, is anchored by junior Meghan Morese, who leads the team with a .367 batting average and .602 slugging percentage.
In 2006, Morese set a single-season Villanova record with 11 home runs and was a first team All-Big East selection. In two games against the Quakers last season, she went 3-for-7 with a walk and two runs batted in.
Penn's biggest advantage over Villanova this season may be its performance from the circle.
The Quakers and Wildcats have nearly identical offensive outputs, but Penn's pitchers - led by freshman Jessie Lupardus - sport a collective 2.54 earned run average.
Villanova has a 3.15 team ERA, and has proven to be vulnerable outside of starters Laura Determan and Nicci Ward.
Penn's recent losing streak has included six consecutive losses to Ivy League opponents, pushing the team into third place in the South Division and seven games behind 12-0 Princeton.
Although tomorrow's games won't give Penn a chance to cut into that deficit, they will give the team an important opportunity to improve before four straight matchups against the Tigers.
"It will affect how we do this coming weekend, so I think it's important," Kinsey said of her team's performance against the Wildcats.
But while the Red and Blue are looking for wins against Villanova, they are more focused on improving the fundamentals that helped them get off to a strong start this season.
"I just want us to play well," King said. "The key is to get out there and play good softball, and if we play good softball, I'll be happy."
