Three home runs propel softball to shutout sweep of Monmouth

It was the bottom of the sixth inning when Monmouth put a new pitcher on the mound. But it was too little too late. Princeton was already leading by five runs in the second game of its doubleheader with the Hawks.

...And if the second game was to be anything like the first game, the Tigers would soon be handing Monmouth its second shutout of the day.

Fortunately for the Tigers, that's exactly what happened.

After taking the first game, 2-0, Princeton claimed its second victory of the day, 5-0.

"I was really happy with the team's performance," head coach Maureen Davies '97 said. " We had a good day overall. We had great discipline at bat and really strong pitching."

Commanding the mound in the first game at Class of 1895 field was junior pitcher Brie Galicinao. Turning in another solid performance, Galicinao recorded eight strikeouts and prevented the Hawks from bringing in any runs.

Leading the Tiger offense was junior shortstop Kim Veenstra, whose home run in the first inning gave Princeton its only two runs of the game. Veenstra's deep shot to left field brought home sophomore outfielder Jen Niel, who had been on first after hitting an infield single past Monmouth's third baseman.

Veenstra continued her strong hitting throughout the rest of the game, registering two more singles. Senior catcher Devon Keefe hit a triple to right center field, but the Tigers failed to bring in any more runs.

The weather was unseasonably cold so it took a while before the Tigers were able to get the blood flowing. After the first game, however, they were warmed up and ready for more.

Freshman pitcher Wendy Bingham took over the mound in the second game for Galicinao, who was moved to first base. Bingham pitched a solid seven innings, recording six strikeouts and her third win of the season.

The Tigers showed no hesitation as they were, once again, first to light up the scoreboard. Keefe gave Princeton a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with a homerun whammy over the fence in left field.

Galicinao got the bats swinging in the bottom of the fourth inning when she smacked a homerun off the first pitch and extended Princeton's lead to 2-0.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The hitting spree continued into the fifth inning as the Tigers would score three more runs. Bingham, senior outfielder Lori Volker, senior third base Lauren Poniatowski and Veenstra all recorded singles as the Tigers would load the bases twice during the inning. It was only when Galicinao stepped to the plate for a base-hit, however, that two runners — Volker and Poniatowski — were able to cross the plate.

The Hawks failed to respond in the next two innings as the Tigers eventually handed them a 5-0 defeat.

Princeton will next face Ivy rival Penn Saturday at 1 p.m. at Class of 1895 Field.

"I'm really excited about playing Penn," Davies said. "If we come out the way we've been playing these past few games with solid hitting and pitching, we should be fine."