Lady sluggers head to S. Fla. tourney

By LAWRENCE R.V. POTTER
Collegian Sports Writer

After playing four scrimmages in Holuba Hall in the middle of February, the Lady Lion softball team traveled to North Carolina to play its opening games.

Now, as the regular season continues, Penn State will travel even farther south to play, this time in Florida.

Early next week, Penn State (4-3) faces South Florida, Indiana State, Marshall and -- in an exhibition -- the Canadian National Team. On March 10 and 11, the Lady Lions will participate in the University of South Florida Classic.

In the Classic, 24 teams will be divided into four pools with every team playing one game against each pool member. The top three teams in each pool then advance to a single-elimination playoff to decide the winner. The teams in Penn State's pool are South Florida, Missouri, Sam Houston State, South Carolina and Western Michigan.

The semifinals and finals of the tournament will be on March 12.

But before meeting those foes, the Lady Lions have some unfinished business with South Florida.

"They beat us twice last year," Coach Sue Rankin said. "They were both good games, and they were close games. We're much further ahead in terms of preparation than last year."

While Lady Lion junior catcher Jill Cowen said some of the older players might consider the game a revenge meeting, every game is important to the team, she added.

"I think we're better by leaps and bounds," she said of the 1995 Lady Lions. "We're still gelling as a team, and we can only get better. When we win, we will show people that we're for real."

But for Rankin's squad, the opportunity to play some more games outside and continue to play well is just as important as who it plays.

"Whenever you step between the chalk, you want to play your best," she said. "You want to play your game and beat your opponent."