Ithaca, N.Y. - The University of Pennsylvania softball team (17-11, 8-4 Ivy) completed its sweep over Cornell on Sunday. The Quakers defeated the Big Red 14-0 for their sixth consecutive win and move to first place in the Ivy League standings.
Notes
* Penn has won its last six games. It's the first time Penn has won six straight games since 2017.
* With the win, the Quakers move to first place in the Ivy League.
* The Red and Blue swept Cornell in Ithaca for the first time in program history.
* Jennifer Brann threw her 10th career complete game.
* Emma Nedley's four hits marked a career-high for the freshman.
How it Happened
The Quakers swept the doubleheader on Saturday against the Big Red and would go for the series sweep on Sunday.
Singles from Jessica England and Sarah Cwiertnia and a walk from Lucy Yang loaded the bases for Penn right out of the gates in the first. Emma Nedley brought England home with a single to put the Quakers on the board early. A ground-out and pop-out back-to-back left the bases loaded with the Red and Blue leading, 1-0, after the opening frame.
The Big Red looked to respond in the home-half of the first inning as they put runners on second and third with no out. However, Jennifer Brann forced three straight outs, recording a swinging strikeout in the process, to retire the side.
Penn picked up where it left off in the second. Kayla Ketring hit a ground-rule double that went over the left center field fence and then Sam Pederson brought her home to extend the Penn lead to two through two innings.
Another ground-rule double — this time from Cwiertnia — led-off the third inning. The junior advanced home on a single from Nedley to make it, 3-0, for the Red and Blue.
After three straight one-run innings, the Quaker offense exploded in the fourth. Back-to-back hits from Sarah and Kayla Ketring put runners on. Sam Pederson brought in a run with single down the right side to put Penn up, 4-0.
An England walk loaded the bases and then a sac-fly from Yang brought a runner across to give the Quakers their first multiple-run inning of the day. Nedley kept it going as she tripled to clear the bases and bring in a pair of runs to give the Quakers a 7-0 lead. Hannah Gibbons followed up with her second home run of the season to make it a six-run inning for Penn and put the Red and Blue up a commanding, 9-0.
The Quakers loaded the bases once again in the fifth with walks from Sarah Ketring, Berit Batterton, and Cwiertnia. A single from Nedley brought in a run and then Corrie Phillips singled up the middle as two more came across to extend the Penn lead to 14-0.
Jennifer Brann continued her strong run in the cirlce. After throwing a complete game shutout in game two on Saturday, the junior kept it going in Sunday's finale. Brann gave up just four hits through five innings and retired seven of the last nine batters she faced to complete the sweep for the Quakers.
