Gatorade and grassburns replaced margaritas and sunbathing for the Penn softball team as the Quakers spent their spring break swinging bats at the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla.
The Quakers return to Philadelphia with a 3-9 record, defeating Bucknell, Syracuse and Butler while in the Sunshine State.
Veterans and rookies alike contributed to the wins, and the team showed why Penn coach Carol Kashow is confident that her team can move above and beyond the 15-win threshold in 2003.
The Quakers began the season on a high note, trouncing Bucknell, 11-2. Officials called the game after three innings once the Bears gave up the tenth and eleventh runs to the Quakers, and the eight-run rule went into effect.
"It was nice to have that game as our first," Penn junior pitcher Nicole Borgstadt said. "It was great to see the team hitting like that. It has been a while since we've seen that many runs on the board."
Borgstadt recorded three strikeouts in the game.
However, doubles from seniors Danielle Landolt and Crista Farrell and freshman Jen Nichols made the Quakers offensive production impossible to ignore.
This game also marked the collegiate debut of freshman Gina Talley, who Borgstadt believes will be an asset to the pitching staff.
"As a pitcher, I was impressed with how Marissa [Brassfield] and Gina stepped up," Borgstadt said. "That was exciting from a pitching perspective."
After two days of losses to teams such as Maine, Quinnipiac and IUP-Fort Wayne, Penn rebounded with a defeat of Syracuse, 4-3, in eight innings. After losing a three-run lead, the Red and Blue rode their tenacious defense through the final innings, containing the Orangemen offense long enough to force extra innings.
As it turned out, it was the Syracuse defense that proved to be costly.
Syracuse's shortshop committed an error, allowing sophomore leadoff outfielder Kristi Hackett to score from second base, sealing the victory for Penn.
While losses to teams such as Niagara, Youngstown State and Austin Peay followed, the Quakers took their last game of the break, beating Butler, 4-3.
"It was great that we won our last game to come back with that kind of momentum," Borgstadt said.
This game marked the end of a great week for freshman hitters, such as third-baseman Meghan Cowen, who had a key RBI on the day.
"Meghan and Jen's bats are going to be really important for us in the lineup," Borgstadt said. "Meghan has a lot of confidence and presence up at the plate, and that is what contributed to her batting in the cleanup spot."
Impressive showings by Penn freshmen was a trend at this year's Rebel Spring Games.
"All of the freshman did an excellent job," Borgstadt said. "Both the girls who started and were able to come off the bench and play a dominant role."
Despite the relatively small number of victories, the spring break games served their purpose -- to prepare the Quakers for their upcoming games against city and league teams.
"We are a lot more positive than we were last year," Borgstadt said. "We had about the same [number of] wins in Florida, but this time two of the wins were against really good teams.
"More so than in the past, we played up to our potential, learned the lessons we wanted to learn and just had fun."
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