BOCA RATON, Fla. – The University of Pennsylvania softball team dropped a pair of games on the second day of the Owl Classic, falling 3-2 to Oakland in nine innings in the first game of the day, and suffering a 7-0 shutout at the hands of host Florida Atlantic (FAU) in the second game.

FINAL/9: Oakland 3, Penn 2
Acting as the away team, the Golden Grizzlies turned two hits and a Penn error into a run in the top of the first. In the bottom of the second, Delaney Smith led off with a single. Julia Mortimer and Abbie Stellrecht followed with one out singles to load the bases. Next up stepped Madison Bauerle, who tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
 
Penn starter Rachel Riley set down Oakland in order in the third, then escaped a fourth inning that included two 2-out errors unscathed. In the top of the fifth, a two-out single put the Golden Grizzlies back in front, 2-1.
 
That lead was erased in the bottom of the sixth when Dani Freer led off with a home run, her first as a Quaker. Penn loaded the bases via a throwing error by Oakland's shortstop and singles from Sammy Fenton and Stellrecht, but the Red and Blue could not push the go-ahead run across.
 
Both teams stranded runners in scoring position in the seventh, sending the game to the eighth, Penn's first extra-inning affair of the season. Both teams advanced their automatic runner to third with one out in the eighth, but neither side could get them 60 feet further, as the score remained 2-2.
 
Oakland took advantage of a Quaker fielding error to open the ninth, pushing the go-ahead run across with a sacrifice fly. The Golden Grizzlies eventually loaded the bases with two out, but Riley avoided further trouble, inducing an inning-ending groundout.
 
Down to its final three outs, Penn was set down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
 
FINAL: FAU 7, Penn 0
Sarah Schneider led off the game with a single and advanced to second with one out, but two strikeouts ended the early scoring threat. The Owls put two on the board in the bottom frame on a one-out double, then tacked on a third run in the bottom of the second courtesy of another double, opening an early cushion.
 
Sixteen Quakers in a row were retired before back-to-back singles from Brianna Brown and Schneider put Penn in business in the sixth, but both runners were stranded following a fielder's choice and inning-ending fly out.
 
After the Owls added two more in the bottom of the sixth via a triple and sacrifice fly, Penn went 1-2-3 in the seventh to end the game.
 
QUAKER NOTEMEAL

• Penn had not played in extra innings since April 2 of last year against Cornell, a stretch of 25 games.
• Riley's nine-inning outing against Oakland was the longest pitching effort for Penn since Jennifer Brann went nine against South Dakota State on March 6, 2018.
• Riley's six strikeouts doubled her previous career-high of three, set in her first outing as a Quaker on February 25, 2022 against Youngstown State.
• Delaney Smith committed her first error against Oakland after 44 consecutive errorless chances to open the season.
• Second generation student-athlete Blake Landow made her collegiate debut as a pinch-runner against Oakland. Landow's mother Arlyn (née Katzen) earned All-Ivy honors on the field for the Quakers in the late 90's.

UP NEXT
The Quakers will conclude the Owl Classic tomorrow morning at 9 AM against Illinois State. The team will remain in Florida next week for six more games in Tampa, Madeira Beach, and Orlando before their home opener Tuesday, March 14, against Delaware State.