PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania softball team (2-12, 0-2 Ivy) fell in back-to-back extra inning games against Columbia on Saturday. The two games marked the first Ivy League double-header of the season. The Quakers will be back in action on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Penn Park as they wrap up the three game series. 

Inside the Numbers
* Penn played their seventh and eighth extra-inning games of the season. They are 0-8 in such games. 

* The Quakers outscored Columbia 12-7 through the first five innings in both games. In the final two frames, they were outdone 10-1. 

* The Red and Blue out-hit the Lions, averaging .328 at the plate to .310. Both teams had 22 hits. 

* Fourteen of Columbia's 17 runs came on home runs. 

* Lucy Yang had her second career home run, and second of the season as she hit a three-run shot to left to put the Quakers up 3-0 in the first game. 

* Yang's home run was her only recorded hit of the day, but she was walked four times for a .667 on-base percentage. 

* Sarah Cwiertnia continued her hot start to the 2018 season. She had four hits in seven at-bats against Columbia for a .571 average. 

* Mason Spichiger lead the Red and Blue pitching with a 4.20 era in game one. The senior had a team best six strikeouts. 

* Tabitha Dyer tied her career high with five strikeouts. 

* Coming in with the bases loaded in game two, Abigail Abramson struck out three straight batters looking for her three strikeouts on the day. 

How it Happened
After defeating Lafayette on Wednesday, the Quakers looked to stay undefeated at home against Columbia, a team they swept just a season ago. As has been the case this year, Penn came up just short in the end, falling in extra innings in both games. 

Game 1 - Box Score

Penn came out firing against Columbia. After two-straight scoreless innings, Lucy Yang got the Quakers on the board with her second home run of the season to left field. With Kayla Ketring and Jurie Joyner both on base, the freshman brought home three runs to give her team a big 3-0 lead. 

The Lions matched with a solo shot of their own, but the Quakers extended their lead in the fourth. Tabitha Dyer brought in two runs with a single to right center. Scoring were Sam Pederson and Jessica England to put Penn up 6-1 heading into the fifth. 

Up 6-3 heading into the seventh inning, it would become the story of the day. When Columbia needed a score, they did it with a home run. The Quakers gave up two in the seventh, including a two-run bomb that went over the center-field fence to tie the score a six and force extra innings. A third home run in the eighth put Penn down 8-6. 

Jessica England singled in the bottom of the frame to start the hopeful rally, but she would not come home as the Red and Blue lost game one of the doubleheader.

Game 2 - Box Score

Looking for a win to close out the day, the Quakers once again took the early lead. Yang and Joyner both came in to score with the help of Sarah Ketring and and England to give Penn a 2-0 lead. 

However, in the following frame, Columbia homered once again bringing in two runs as Penn found themselves trailing 4-2.

The Red and Blue came right back however, with Kayla Ketring scoring on Dyer's third RBI of the day and England scoring on a Cwiertnia sacrifice fly to tie the game at four. 

The Quakers then took their first lead since early in the game in the fifth as Kayla Ketring brought fellow freshman, Yang, home to go up 5-4. England then singled to right field to extend the lead to 6-4, bringing home Molly Oretsky. 

Columbia, again, hit a home run to tie the score and scored on a wild pitch as Penn fell down 7-6 for the third lead change of the game. 

In the bottom of the seventh, the Quakers would need a rally to extend or win the game. With runners on second and third, two outs, and down to their final strike, England singled up the left side line with the ball going between the legs of the third-basemen. Sarah Ketring slid in at the plate to beat the throw and scored to tie the game at 7.

For the second game of the day, we were once again headed to extras. 

Columbia homered for a seventh time to go up 9-7 in the eighth. With the tying run at second base, Penn would once again look for their late magic and some more luck on St. Patrick's Day. However, Oretsky grounded out to first base for the third and final out. 

What's Next
The Quakers return to Penn Park on Sunday at 12:30 as they look to avoid the sweep against Columbia and wrap up the three-game series.