Softball sweeps sloppy games

Chalk two more notches in the win column for the Penn softball team. The Quakers defeated Lafayette 3-2 and 11-4 at cozy Warren Field?but it was a bit messy. "In the first game we got lucky," third baseman Abby Altman said. "We got runs on errors. We could have played better." "We really weren't focused the entire game," freshman Melanie Bolt said. "When they [tied the game in the seventh], it was a wake up call." With the Quakers up 2-1 in the top of the seventh, the Leopards managed to tie the game when Lafayette second baseman Beth Standbridge hit a sacrifice fly to center to score freshman Jennifer Rothrock. The Quakers (9-10) failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game to extra innings. The score remained tied at 2 until the bottom of the ninth when Altman batted with freshman Laurie Nestler on third base, senior Hilary Stamos on second and senior co-captain Rachel Walsh on first with one out. "I knew I just had to hit the ball solid and get it through the infield," Altman said. She did much more than "get it through the infield." Altman drilled a shot over the center fielder's head to score the winning run. When the first game was over, Altman had gone 2 for 4, including the game-winning RBI. Freshman Vicki Moore, who pitched all nine innings, allowing only one earned run on two hits, earned the win. Despite the Quaker win, Penn coach Linda Carothers credits the Leopards for never counting themselves out of the game. "Lafayette doesn't know what the word quit means," Carothers said. "Their the type of club you compare a boxer to. You keep hitting them and they keep coming back." During the nightcap, however, the Leopards found themselves down for the 10 count. "The second game, our hitting was much better and we hit consistently through the lineup," Walsh said. "We put together some good innings." In the bottom of the first, catcher Stacey Thompson doubled to score Bolt and Samantha Smithson, who reached base on an error and a fielder's choice, respectively. Thompson scored when Moore laid down a bunt and forced an errant throw. Moore reached third after Stamos got on base via another error. Then Walsh grounded out to third, but the first baseman threw the ball past the catcher when Moore headed home. By the time the dust had settled, Penn led 4-0. With the Quakers leading 6-1 in the top of the fourth, Lafayette senior Chris Colasurdo drilled a booming triple to right field off Quaker pitcher and junior co-captain Dawn Kulp and scored when the relay throw to third hit Colasurdo on the head. Lafayette refused to give up. In the top of the fifth, the Leopards scored a run to cut the deficit to 7-3. With that, Carothers realized that after pitching four innings and giving up only three hits and no earned runs, Kulp was tiring. So Carothers made the call to the bullpen –– or actually to first base –– for Bolt. Bolt gave up a single to Lafayette senior co-captain Heidi Ritter which scored Standbridge. With a score of 7-4, the Leopards were mounting another comeback. But it was not to be. It wasn't pretty, but, nevertheless, it was a victory. "Mel [Bolt] came into a situation we don't like to put a pitcher in –– coming from the field to pitch?cold," Carothers said. "Dawn struggled a little bit and we decided to make the change to maintain the momentum we had." With a five-game winning streak under their belts, the Quakers will face Drexel today at 3:30 p.m. for an "away game" at Warren Field. The Dragons' home field is under renovations and Drexel decided to play a few blocks away at Penn's home field. "If they want to play us on our turf, that's fine," Carothers said. "I'd hate to think that's not an advantage for us." The Quakers will need more than the home-field advantage to pull off a victory. "I think to beat Drexel," Kulp said, "we're going to have to play solid defense. Once we start getting hits, that will carry over and the defense will get better." "The way we're playing now, we should be able to beat anybody," Walsh said. If the Quakers keep up their aggressive, hard-hitting style of play, their may indeed be many more chalk marks in the win column.

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