PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania softball team returns to Ivy League play for the holiday weekend. The Quakers will spend the Easter weekend at Yale for a three-game series with the Bulldogs. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday, first pitch of both days is set for 12:30 p.m.  
 
Saturday, April 8
5K Corral Field at DeWitt Family Stadium | New Haven, Conn.
at Yale – 12:30 p.m. (DH)
Game 1: Watch | Live Stats
Game 2: Watch | Live Stats
 
Sunday, April 9
5K Corral Field at DeWitt Family Stadium | New Haven, Conn.
at Yale – 12:30 p.m.
Watch | Live Stats
 
These two teams met to end the 2022 season with the Quakers taking the final two games of the season, winning both in five innings. Yale took the first game 5-4 before the Quakers bounced back out scoring the Bulldogs 17-1 in the final two games.
 
In the second game of the series, Penn led 6-0 after the first two innings. Sarah Schneider hit a two-run shot in the first inning and put the home team up 3-0 in the second inning as she ripped an RBI base hit up the middle. Bella Fiorentino and Julia Mortimer each collected RBI in the second inning in back-to-back at-bats for the 6-0 lead. A Mortimer sac fly in the fourth put Penn with in a run of the run-rule lead. Fiorentino ended the game with an RBI base hit to left that scored Abbie Stellrecht for the winning run.
 
In the series finale, Yale got off to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first but after that it was all Penn. The Quakers scored six runs in the bottom of the first to jump out to a 6-1 lead. Schneider and Emma Nedley both homered in the first inning to make it 5-1. Corrie Phillips scored the sixth Penn run on a Sammy Fenton double to left. The Quakers pushed three more runs across the plate in the third inning as Brianna Brown reached ona a fielders choice with the bases loaded and with two outs, back-to-back bases loaded walks to Schneider and Fiorentino scored the final two runs as Penn closed out the 9-1 victory in five innings.
 
Previewing Penn
The Quakers are coming off a quiet offensive outing at Villanova on Tuesday afternoon. The Red and Blue managed just a pair of hits to lead off the first and second innings as the final 14 batters were retired by a pair of Villanova pitchers. The Wildcats scored in all but two innings as they put up crooked numbers in the second and fourth innings to complete the 8-0 run-rule victory.  

In the circle, Kelly Zybura leads the pitching with a 5.84 ERA as she is 2-12 in 86.1 innings pitched. Zybura had a tough outing against the Wildcats as she allowed seven runs on eight hits in 3.2 innings pitched while striking out two and allowing a career-high seven walks.

Brianna Brown has hit safely in ten of her last 11 games played. During that stretch she has a slash line of .406/.472/.438 with 13 hits, two RBI, a double, four walks, seven runs scored and eight stolen bases. Over the weekend, she extended her stolen base streak to a perfect 13-for-13 as she had two stolen bases in the second game of the doubleheader with Princeton. She now sits in a tie with Sydney Turchin (2013) for 13 stolen bases in a single season.

Sarah Schneider leads the team in multiple categories including hit (29), average (.333), slugging percentage (.552), on base percentage (.385), RBI (15), home runs (3), doubles (10), and total bases (48). She is in a tie for first in the Ivy League with 10 doubles. With her two-run shot in game one against Princeton, she hit her third home run of the season and the 16th of her career moving her into a tie with Jessica Melendez (2010-13) for the sixth most in program history. Two more and she will tie Brooke Coloma (2010-13) and Alisha Prystowsky (2008-11) for fifth most.

Bella Fiorentino returned to the field for the first time since the first game of the Harvard series. Tuesday's appearance in the circle was her first pitching appearance since she pitched three innings against Texas State on March 3.  

On the season, the Quakers lead the league in walks with 73.  
 
Previewing the Bulldogs
Yale is 11-15 overall on the season and 4-5 in Ivy League play. Last weekend the Bulldogs took the series at Cornell winning the first two before dropping the final game. Yale is 6-4 in its last ten games.
 
The roster includes a pair of hitters hitting above .300, Willa Ferrer (.352) and Carolyn Skotz (.342). Skotz (27) and Ferrer (25) also lead the team with hits and are two of four with more than 20 hits on the season. Libby Peoples currently sits in an Ivy League tie with Schneider with 10 doubles. Lauren Parren leads the team with 19 RBI and Ferrer is a close second with 17 RBI. With four homers each, Ferrer and Parren account for eight of Yale's 19 home runs.
 
In the circle, Emma Taylor leads the group with a 4.36 ERA and is 4-7 with 42 strikeouts and 11 walks in 61.0 innings pitched. Last year in the series opener, Mattie Latta went the distance allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out four and walking three in a 5-4 win over the Quakers. In the series finale, the Quakers touched up Latta for five runs in the opening frame as she managed just one out while allowing five runs on just four hits while walking one batter.
 
Numbers of Note
.240 – Team batting average this season, top four hitters, Sarah Schneider (.333), Brianna Brown (.305), Sammy Fenton (.284), and Madison Bauerle (.271)
74 – Strikeouts as a pitching staff: Kelly Zybura (29), Rachel Riley (26), Payton Bean (14), Bella Fiorentino (5)
73 – Penn batters have drawn 73 walks
10 – Seven Penn batters have combined for 10 home runs on the season, Sarah Schneider (3), Sammy Fenton (2), Bella Fiorentino, Dani Freer, Julia Mortimer, Dana Anderson, Katie Reagan
7 – Seven Penn batters have 10 or more hits on the season, Sarah Schneider (29), Sammy Fenton (25), Brianna Brown (25), Madison Bauerle (23), Dana Anderson (18), Julia Mortimer (13) Delaney Smith (11)