Penn softball guarantees share of South Division title with sweep of Columbia

In Wednesday’s edition of The Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn softball was announced as the DP’s team of the year on the women’s side. Of course, the Quakers had yet to even finish regular season play.

If there was any doubt as to the softball team's claim to this award before, it should no longer remain.

With one weekend of Ivy play remaining, the Red and Blue could guarantee at least a share of the South Division title by sweeping Columbia in their four-game series. It would be the Quakers' first division title since 2007.

Penn not only swept, but decimated the Lions. In doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday, the Quakers outscored Columbia 33-5 and won at least one game each day by mercy rule.

While Penn’s offense shelled its opponent, pitching virtuoso Alexis Borden had the most impressive performance of the weekend. The freshman pitched every inning for the Quakers against Columbia and gave up just five runs in 33 innings. The four wins boosted Borden’s record to 23-4 on the season and helped Borden pass Jessie Lupardus for most wins in a single season in Penn history. Lupardus had 20 wins in 2008.

Penn (32-15, 15-5 Ivy) will now keep a close eye on Cornell (22-21, 13-5), who was tied with the Quakers for the lead in the South Division entering the weekend. Two games into its four-games series at Princeton, the Big Red is still in contention for the division, as it won both games today. However, Cornell will have to sweep again on Sunday in order to keep pace with the Red and Blue.

If Cornell wins both games on Sunday, then the Quakers and the Big Red will play a one-game playoff to determine which team will play in the Ivy League Championship series against Harvard next weekend.

Though the Crimson have run the table this year largely untouched, Penn’s dominant performances of late have made the Quakers a serious threat for an Ivy League title. In particular, the best of three setup of the Ivy championship series would benefit the Red and Blue, as Borden could feasibly pitch the entirety of the series. With this in mind, Penn seems well positioned to spoil Harvard’s otherwise easy travels in the Ivy League this season.