CLEARWATER, Fla. - The University of Pennsylvania softball team kicked off its 2019 season on Friday in Clearwater, Florida. Despite playing in sunny, warm Florida, the Quaker bats remained cold. Penn scored one run in the two games, falling 3-0 to Middle Tennessee and then wrapped up the day with a, 4-1, loss to Furman. 

Notes

* Penn's games against Middle Tennessee and Furman marked its first against the two teams in program history. 

* The Quakers left 12 runners on base over the two games compared to just 11 for Middle Tennessee and Furman combined. 

* The Red and Blue outfield held its own in both games. Penn's seven runs allowed over the first two games are the fewest that the team has given up in the first two games of a season since 2015. 

* Outfielder Emma Nedley came within a home run of hitting for the cycle against Furman. The freshman went five-for-seven on the day at the plate in her Penn debut. She also went two-for-two in stolen base attempts. 

* Jennifer Brann had a successful day in the circle. She allowed just three runs on four hits for a 3.71 ERA. 


How it Happened

Freshman Emma Nedley got the Quaker bats going early against the Blue Raiders in the first game on Friday's double-header. In her first career at-bat, Nedley singled to shortstop, but she was left stranded on base after a Hannah Gibbons ground out. 

Both teams traded 1-2-3 sides before Middle Tennessee broke the 0-0 tie in the bottom of the second. Brann walked the Blue Raiders' Jocelynn De La Cruz - who then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Running for De La Cruz, Cameron McKenry stole third before scoring on a sacrifice fly to left field. With another fly out, this time to right field, Brann retired the side. 

Penn looked to match Middle Tennessee's run in the third, and after Kayla Ketring advanced to third on a Sam Pederson groundout, the Quakers looked well on their way to doing so. However, Ketring was left on third base after a Lucy Yang ground out, ending the inning. 

The fielding remained stout for the next two innings with neither side able to string hits together. The Blue Raiders finally expanded their lead in the bottom of the fifth. Middle Tennessee's Kristyn Cuccia singled and then advanced to second as Brann walked just her second batter of the day. On a fly out to right field, Keely McGee - running for Cuccia - tagged up at second and then rounded third to come in a score. 

Middle Tennessee added a third run in the sixth and then a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh ended the game for the Quakers. 

Penn looked to take control early against Furman who fell 9-0 to Troy earlier in the day. Nedley did just that as she led off with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Jessica England brought the freshman home with a single to shortstop, putting the Quakers up an early, 1-0. England looked to keep it going, advancing to third on a fly out from Yang. However, the run was ended after Corrie Phillips hit a dribbler to first. 

 Abigail Abramson made her season debut in the circle and started strong, retiring six of the first nine batters. After allowing three straight hits in the third, which resulted in Furman tying the score and then loading the bases, the sophomore was pulled for freshman Julia Longo. Inheriting the circle with the bases loaded and just one out, Longo struck out her second batter and ended the inning. 

After the strong start offensively, the Quakers struggled to string hits together with runners in scoring position. Pederson advanced to second with one out in the fourth, but was left there after a Clare Sebastianelli pop-up and Laurel McKelvey ground out. Down 2-1 in the fifth, Nedley tripled to right center with two outs, but England ground out to end the inning. 

With Penn trailing just 2-1 headed into the seventh, Furman's Marissa Guimbarda hit her fifth home run in four games, this one a two run shot to right, extending the Paladin lead to, 4-1. 

In the bottom of the frame, Sebastianelli hit a lead-off single to start the hopes of a late rally. Sebastianelli went out on a fielder's choice as Laurel McKelvey singled. Running for McKelvey, Berit Batterton advanced to second on a single from Julie Schneider which put the tying run at the plate. With runners at first and second and two outs, Emma Nedley stepped up to bat with a chance to not only tie the game with a home-run, but complete the cycle. However, she fouled out on the left side as the Quakers ended the day with a second-straight loss. 

Up Next

Penn will get right back into action on Saturday for another double-header. The Quakers will play Ball State at 10 a.m. and Bethune-Cookman at 12:30 p.m.