The Penn softball team cannot seem to catch a break. Coming off of four straight losses to Saint Joseph's and Monmouth and a 10-7 loss to Lehigh earlier in the day, the Quakers seemed poised to finally snap their skid in the second game of a doubleheader.
However, a questionable call by the umpiring crew forced the squad to settle for a tie in its final tune-up before plunging into the Ivy League portion of its schedule.
Heading into the bottom half of the seventh inning, the Quakers trailed, 3-2. But they quickly evened the score when junior Keiko Uraguchi led off with a triple down the third-base line and scored on an infield single by freshman Justine Payne.
With the no outs and Payne on first base, sophomore Alisha Prystowsky - who leads the team with a .448 on-base percentage - stepped up to bat.
Yet victory was not in the cards. After Prystowsky drew opposing pitcher Tiffany Curtis into a full count, the umpiring crew abruptly ended the game as a result of darkness.
"I was very surprised to have the game called with no outs and the meat of our line-up ready to bat," freshman shortstop Jamie Boccanfuso said. "In our minds we knew we should have won."
After a quick meeting with her players, disappointed coach Lesley King stalked off the field and refused to comment.
Despite the unfavorable results on the scoreboard, the team showed a marked improvement from earlier performances. Penn entered yesterday having mustered only one run in its last four games, but came out swinging in the opener.
The Red and Blue produced nine hits and seven runs, while Prystowsky registered three hits, two runs batted-in and three runs. Uraguchi broke out of a recent slump, adding three hits and two runs.
"Keiko had a great day," senior outfielder Anna Puglisi said. "Her bat was unbelievable."
Although the team was able to find success on offense, its defense faltered. The Quakers allowed five unearned runs in the first three innings, which ultimately proved to be the deciding factor.
"Our batting finally came around," Puglisi said. "Against Monmouth, we demonstrated how strong our defense is. If we can combine the two aspects of our game, we will be in good shape."
The team received solid performances from its pitching staff, especially in the second game. Starting pitcher Chelsea Ott allowed only three runs in 5.1 innings while sophomore pitcher Tory Satagaj closed out the Mountain Hawks without allowing a single hit.
"We are out of our slump," Uraguchi said. "Our offense has improved. Our defense has improved. Our performance in practice and games is better. If we put it all together, we should surprise some teams heading into Ivy League play."
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