PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania softball team (1-10) returns home after its seven days trip to Florida that consisted of 11 games. The Quakers will host Lafayette at Penn Park on Wednesday at 3 p.m. for their home opener.
About Penn
* The Quakers will be looking to bounce back. The Red and Blue went 1-10 in Florida and will be looking to take some momentum into the beginning of Ivy League Play which begins on Saturday against Columbia.
* Leading the bats for the Quakers has been the freshmen duo of
Tabitha Dyer and
Lucy Yang. Dyer has the highest batting average on the team as she is hitting .318. Yang, meanwhile, is hitting .286, but has an on base percentage of .447 and has the team's only home run of the year.
* In the circle,
Jennifer Brann has been leading the way. Brann leads the team in strikeouts with 21 which ranks fifth in the Ivy League and has an ERA of just 4.42.
* Dyer has impressed in both the batters box and in the circle. Outside of her first start in which she allowed five runs in less than an inning against Charleston, the freshman has pitched a 3.07 ERA while striking out eight in 13.2 innings.
* Senior
Jurie Joyner ranks second on the team in hits. She has seven on the season to go with 5 RBIs which also ranks second.
* The Quakers have done a fantastic job this season advancing their runners to second base. Penn is 14 for 16 on stolen base attempts lead by
Katie Petroski and
Jessica England who have three each. The 14 stolen bases ranks third in the Ivy League.
* England ranks fourth in the Ivy in getting to first via walk. The junior has been walked six times this season.
* Penn leads the all-time series against Lafayette and has gone 8-2 in the last ten meetings. That includes the series sweep last season.
Previewing Lafayette
* There will be a new voice in the dugout this season for Lafayette. Caitlyn de La Haba joins the team after playing her college career at Villanova with coaching stints at Lehigh and George Mason.
* The Leopards returns seven starters from a season ago.
* The Lafayette pitching staff is inexperienced having graduated two of its starters from a season ago.
* Thus far, the Leopards are 1-12 in 2018 with their lone win coming against Rider.
What's Next
Win or lose, it will be a pretty quick turnaround for the Red and Blue. The Quakers will play their first Ivy League Series of the season as they host Columbia at Penn Park for a double-header on Saturday and a third game on Sunday.
