Three up, three down: Penn softball vs. Villanova

By Staff Writer Laine Higgins

Penn softball has one regular season game remaining before taking on Dartmouth in the Ivy League Championship Series for the second straight year. That matchup is against Villanova on Tuesday. Here's who's up and who's down for the next week of Red and Blue softball.

THREE UP:

Leah Allen: This freshman right fielder has been the star of Penn’s offense all year, maintaining a batting average of .410 and racking up 41 RBI. Allen leads both the team and the league in these categories. When Allen steps into the batter’s box, the Quakers can always expect something big. Perhaps the best example of this is the 13 home runs she has hit this season, also a league high. If Allen continues her hitting hot streak she will prove to be a valuable asset in this game and the Ivy Championship Series.

Mindset: At the beginning of the season, coach Leslie King set a clear goal for her team: to end up in the Ivy League Championship game for the third year in a row. In order to do this, she encouraged her girls to treat every minute on the field — be it for a routine practice or a game-deciding inning — like a championship game. Thus, the Red and Blue should be able to keep their nerves in check and walk out onto the diamond as proud, defending champions come May 3 when they face the Big Green.

Experience: Even though Penn’s team is young (11 of the girls on its 21-person roster are freshman), almost half of the team has been to the Ivy League Championship game before. The Quakers faced Dartmouth in its last championship appearance, so the high stakes are nothing new for the Red and Blue.

THREE DOWN

Stamina: In Penn’s last meeting with Dartmouth on April 5, the Red and Blue dropped both games, losing 3-2 and 12-1. The Quakers clearly lost steam in their second game, going through their entire pitching staff in a vain attempt to stop Dartmouth’s offensive attack. With one more game to play before facing the Big Green, the Quakers will be well rested before taking on their biggest test.

Conference play: The Quakers would likely rather focus on Dartmouth, but the Wildcats will take a little time away from that as Penn heads to Villanova. Expect Penn to take its collective foot off the gas pedal as King prepares her team for a much more important matchup.

Young mistakes: Lately, Penn has been allowing its opponents to score runs on fielding errors. In fact, Penn’s fielding percentage is the second worst in the Ancient Eight. If Penn wants to pull off its second-consecutive title, it cannot afford to make split-second errors in judgment.