March 21, 2002
PHILADELPHIA (www.lafayette.edu) -
The Lafayette softball team dropped two close games to Penn on Thursday in Philadelphia. The Leopards fell 3-2 in the first game and were down 5-4 in game two when it was called for darkness.
Lafayette jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of game one. Junior shortstop Mara Shainheit advanced to second on a Penn error, allowing Laura Schrager to score for a 1-0 lead. Senior Liz Lucisano singled to right field to bring in Shainheit for the 2-0 Leopard advantage.
Penn fought back in the third inning as Deborah Kowalchuk hit a sacrifice bunt, allowing teammate Crista Farrell to score. The Quakers took the the lead in with a two-run effort in the fourth inning. Zahya Hantz singled to right center field to bring home Danielle Landolt who reached on a single to right field. Penn took a 3-2 lead as Farrell reached on an error, allowing Hantz to score.
Penn pitcher Nicole Borgstadt earned the win, allowing four hits, to walks and striking out two batters. Lafayette's Jackie Fitzgerald picked up a loss, allowing four hits, two earned runs, zero walks and two strikeouts.
Shainheit and Lucisano led Lafayette with one hit and one RBI each while Kelly Wise went 1-for-3 from the plate.
In game two, Penn struck first with a 1-0 lead in the second inning as Hantz doubled to left center, allowing Erin O'Brien to score. O'Brien had earlier doubled to left field.
Lafayette fought back in the third inning for a three-run effort. Junior Leigh Minarick got the ball rolling on a single to left field. Shainheit tripled to right center to bring home Minarick. Lucisano stepped up to the plate and singled to left field, scoring Shainheit for a 2-1 Leopard lead. Lucisano advanced to second on a grounder to the pitcher by Wise, and took third on a wild pitch. Freshman Danielle Bernotsky singled to center field, allowing Lucisano to score as Lafayette took its biggest lead of the game, 3-1.
The Quaker's scored the eventual gamewinner in the fourth inning as Farrell singled to center, allowing Hantz to score. Hantz reached base on a Lafayette error. Lafayette fought to within one run in the fifth inning on a Bernotsky double to left center that scored Wise, but it wasn't enough as the game was called for darkness in the sixth inning.
Lafayette (1-3) returns to action next week as it travels to James Madison for a doubleheader on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
