Monday, Feb. 23, 1998

Petrini positive despite four lady slugger losses

Despite dropping four of six games, Penn State softball coach Robin Petrini was pleased with what she saw from her team this weekend at the Aggie Invitational.

The Lady Lions dropped four heartbreaking decisions on Friday and Saturday, never losing by more than two runs. Yesterday, the Lions (1-4-1) turned things around and defeated New Mexico State, 2-1, and tied Texas A&M 4-4.

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"We played very well," Petrini said. "We lost our first four games, but we were in every game and within one hit of changing the game. We played top caliber softball (yesterday)."

The Lions got a strong pitching outing from freshman Tanis Ambelang yesterday. Ambelang gave up four hits and struck out four against the Roadrunners. Ambelang added a home run against the Aggies.

The game against Texas A&M ended after eight innings because Penn State had to catch its plane. The Lions overcame four errors in that game and got solid pitching from Anje Schwab.

On Saturday, Penn State lost to Texas A&M 3-2 and to Texas-San Antonio 2-0. The Lions lost 6-4 to New Mexico State and 2-1 to Texas-San Antonio Friday.

Overall, though, Petrini was pleased with her team's first outing of the year.

"Our hitting is starting to catch up to pitching and defense," Petrini said. "It was a good trip out for us. I think the team actually came together very well on this trip. This is a big improvement from last year."

-- by Brian Costello