King's team is in good hands with Denstedt

Emily Denstedt will take the ball for the Quakers on Saturday against Yale as she seeks her team-leading seventh victory. After manhandling the Elis last year, she is in position for a repeat performance.

When Yale (13-7, 0-4 Ivy) last visited Warren Field, they crushed Penn (14-10, 6-2 Ivy) by a score of 14-2 in the second game. However, in the first game Denstedt pitched a complete game five-hitter as Penn squeezed by 2-0.

Denstedt will need another strong performance as the Quakers seek to keep track with 4-0 Princeton and 3-1 Cornell in the South Division. Penn will take on the Elis in a doubleheader Saturday and follow up with another two games against Brown (7-15, 1-3 Ivy) on Sunday.

Brown is coming in as a weak and struggling team. The Bears have lost 13 of their last 14 games. Over that period, they have scored just 16 runs and have been shut out seven times.

As a team, Brown is barely over the Mendoza Line, hitting .214. The Bears are led by outfielder Kaitlyn Laabs, who is batting .288, and pitcher Kelsey Wilson, who has a 1.21 earned run average.

Yale is a stronger team than its Ivy mark suggests. It took Princeton to extra innings and lost to Cornell by a hair, 2-1. The Elis feature two returning first team All-Ivy awardees in Katie Edwards at first base and Megan Enyeart at second base.

"I think their record is deceptive," Penn coach Leslie King said. "But they are a team we can beat. I feel very confident that we can beat them."

Edwards and Enyeart are two of six players in the Yale lineup hitting over .300. Yale is scoring over five runs a game, while limiting opponents to just over three. The hot Quakers bats will need to be ready to compete. Penn has scored at least five runs in 12 of its last 15 games.

"I feel like we can hit any pitcher in our league," King said.

While both the Elis and Quakers may score a lot of runs, the games may come down to pitching and defense.

"Our defense is coming along and it is getting stronger and stronger," King said.

Denstedt believes her teammates will put on a strong performance behind her.

"We are expecting to play our game," Denstedt said. "I just want to pitch to keep my team in the game until we score runs."

The Quakers can also expect a great crowd for their matchup against Yale on Little League Softball day at Warren Field.

Little Leaguers from the area are invited to attend the game and wear their uniforms. Penn will be giving away pom-poms, and the softball team will take the opportunity after the game to sign autographs and answer questions.

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