PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania softball team will head to the suburbs on Wednesday for a clash with Villanova (3 p.m.). Penn will play Villanova in preparation for its three-game Ivy League series at Cornell this weekend.
Previewing Penn
The Quakers head into its mid-week contest with Villanova after taking two out of three games against Dartmouth over the weekend. Penn fought back from 6-1 down in game three to win, 17-10, and take the series. The Red and Blue's 17 runs are the most they have scored under head coach
Leslie King.
As a team, Penn ranks 44th in the nation in team batting average (.302). The Quakers have eight players hitting above .300. Leading the charge is sophomore catcher,
Sarah Ketring (.388) who hit the game-tying home run in Penn's comeback on Saturday.
Both
Lucy Yang and
Sarah Cwiertnia find themselves in the NCAA ranks as well. Cwiertnia is ranked 26th in doubles per game (.38) and Yang ranks 27th in walks per game (.75).
In the circle, it was
Julia Longo who led the Quakers to an important split on Friday against the Big Green. The freshman threw her second consecutive complete game during Ivy League play to earn a 6-3 victory. During Ancient Eight action, Longo is 2-1 with a team-best 3.60 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .217 average at the plate.
Penn at Villanova – Wednesday, 3 p.m.
Series Information
All-Time series: Villanova leads, 43-22-2 | Last Meeting: April 4, 2018 (Penn, 5-3)
Last season, the Quakers defeated the Wildcats for the first time in six years in what was Coach King's 300th career victory. Penn trailed early, but
Katie Petroski tripled in the fourth and seventh innings, resulting in three runs in the 5-3 win.
The Wildcats will be coming off of a week-long break after their weekend series with Butler was called off due to weather. Like Penn, Villanova has wins over La Salle and Bethune-Cookman, but unlike the Quakers, the Wildcats fell to Penn State.
