CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.— The University of Pennsylvania softball team travels South to Virginia for the Mizuno Classic at Palmer Park this weekend, hosted by the University of Virginia.
The Field
Penn has a busy weekend scheduled, playing a total of four games across two days. Originally scheduled to start on Friday at Longwood, the Quakers will skip their day in Farmville, Va. and go right to Palmer Park on the campus of the University of Virginia. With Connecticut's withdrawal from the tournament, the Red and Blue will now play the Delaware Blue Hens and the Virginia Cavaliers twice in two days. Penn open their weekend on Saturday (Feb. 22) with games against Virginia at 11 a.m. and Delaware at 4 p.m.
Penn vs. Virginia (5-5)
Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 | 11 a.m.
Palmar Park | Charlottesville, Va.
Live Stats | Livestream
Penn vs. Delaware (2-3)
Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 | 4 p.m.
Palmer Park | Charlottesville, Va.
Live Stats
The Quakers then continue the tournament on Sunday (Feb. 23) with games against Delaware at 11 a.m. and Virginia at 1:30 p.m.
Penn vs. Delaware
Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 | 11 a.m.
Palmer Park | Charlottesville, Va.
Live Stats
Penn vs. Virginia (5-5)
Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 | 1:30 p.m.
Palmar Park | Charlottesville, Va.
Live Stats | Livestream
Quaker Notemeal
The Quakers had a solid opening weekend in North Carolina last weekend, splitting 1-1 in the Elon Softball Phoenix Invitational. They won their first game of the season over Morgan State on Friday morning, 7-2. Freshman Gigi Ganje led her team in offensive stats that game with a .750 BA (3 for 4), with a double, stolen base, 1 RBI, and 3 runs scored in her collegiate debut. Junior Jade Montgomery jumped to a commanding offensive start as well, hitting her first home run of the season in her first at-bat against the Bears, following it with a sacrifice fly in her next at bat to collect 2 RBIs in the game.
Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Week Ainsley Pemberton earned her first win in her collegiate debut in that game, pitching all seven innings. Garnering 9 strikeouts, she finished the game with a WHIP of 1.00 after facing a total of 30 batters. She maintained impressive efficiency in the win, averaging only 3.5 pitches per batter.
Previewing the Blue Hens
Delaware enters the weekend 2-3, dropping games to Illinois State, South Florida, and No. 2 Florida (now No. 3) in the USF Rawlings Invitational earlier this month. The Blue Hens will be coming off a long break due to the JMU Lakeside Book Company Invitational being canceled last weekend. Delaware hopes to move to .500 as they open their tournament against Longwood tonight.
Penn enters this matchup looking for their first win over the Blue Hens since 2012.
Previewing the Cavaliers
Currently receiving votes in the national rankings, Virginia enters the weekend 5-5. Hosting the Mizuno Classic, the Cavaliers hope to move above .500 by the end of the weekend. Opening their season at the Gamecock Invitational hosted by South Carolina, Virginia went 3-2, dropping both games to South Carolina before sweeping the remainder of their tournament. The Cavaliers then traveled to Clearwater, Fla. for the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational, where they went 2-3. Their wins came against No. 23 Kentucky (no longer ranked) and No. 4 UCLA, while dropping games to Auburn (now ranked No. 18), No 5. Texas A&M (now No. 6), and San Diego State (now No. 23). Virginia opens their weekend against Connecticut on Friday afternoon.
This will be the first time in recent history that the programs will face each other in the regular season.
For the latest on Penn Softball, follow @Penn_Softball on X and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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