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Rider sweeps softball in afternoon doubleheader

After watching all hopes of salvaging the second game of an afternoon doubleheader against Rider end with a weak force out by sophomore shortstop Kim Veenstra, Princeton softball head coach Cindy Cohen just stood still for a moment on the third base line, as though she hadn't realized the game was over.

But the disappointed and exasperated look on her face spoke volumes about what she thought of her team's performance.

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"We just haven't gotten better all season and I am partially to blame," Cohen said. "I haven't felt like I've been tough enough on this team."

"We need to make some changes."

Coming off an already discouraging 3-7 record on Spring Break, the Tigers (5-13 overall) are definitely in need of some sort of change following a 7-3 and 3-2 loss to a mediocre Bronc squad (8-4) yesterday afternoon at 1895 Field. While at moments the team showed what it could be, the rest of the afternoon was full of missed opportunities, defensive mistakes and a general lack of patience at the plate.

In the first game, senior No.1 starter Sarah Peterman (3-8) — the backbone of the Princeton's pitching squad last season — continued her struggles on the mound. After allowing no runs in the first three innings, Peterman surrendered two in the fourth. In the fifth, after an infield error kept the inning alive, Peterman gave up a bases-clearing double to Kim Merkle which catapulted the Broncs to an insurmountable 7-1 lead.

Princeton was able to cut the lead down to 7-3 after a two-run homer by Veenstra in the bottom of the fifth. But after that, the Tiger offense could not muster anything else.

In each of their final two times at bat, the Tigers left two runners in scoring position, with junior catcher Devon Keefe ending the game on a pop out to third. Keefe, the team's RBI leader, epitomized Princeton's offensive woes yesterday afternoon, going 0-6 with two strikeouts for the doubleheader.

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Rider did not give the Tigers any time to regain momentum in the second game, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of half of the second. The Broncs were helped along by two costly errors in the field — in particular an easy fly ball that was muffed in the outfield, allowing the third and ultimately decisive run to score.

Starter Bri Galiciano (2-4) tried to give the Tigers a fighting chance to come back — retiring in order the final nine Broncs she faced. But after a two-run fourth — highlighted by an RBI triple and single by Laura Poinatowski and Vicki Siesta respectively — the Tigers were out of gas.

"I guess I just didn't pitch well enough for us to win," Galiciano said. "We just can't let these types of teams play with us."

"I know that we have been injured and we are a young team, but the players in the field [today] are not going to get much healthier than they are now," Cohen said. "Youth is youth but talent is talent.

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"I know that they are better than this."