Softball swept by Seton Hall in road doubleheader while Galicinao shines

With no more home games left on this season's slate, the softball team traveled down the Jersey Turnpike to South Orange to take on Seton Hall in its second-to-last matchup of the season.

Junior pitcher Brie Galicinao, who, as of Wednesday, ranked No. 10 in the NCAA with an ERA of 0.66, the lowest in the Ivy League, pitched the first game of the doubleheader against the Pirates. Prior to last weekend when she pitched 22 innings, Galicinao stood back in thirtieth place.

Galicinao did all she could for the Tigers (20-17 overall), going the entire game without giving up an earned run, dropping her ERA even further. But she didn't get enough support from her hitting or solid fielding from the defense, and Princeton fell to the Pirates (24-11), 2-1, in 8 innings. Galicinao's record fell to 10-8 with the loss.

The game was a pitchers' duel tied at one going into the bottom of the eighth. Pirate pitcher Misty Beaver tossed six innings and struck out 10 Tigers. But Galicinao drove in the only run of the game for the Tigers in the sixth inning, with sophomore leftfielder Jen Neil scoring.

When Seton Hall came to bat, Galicinao got the first two batters she faced out. Then Pirate slugger Marlena Kotysnki, who was 2-for-3 for the game, stepped to the plate.

She singled to left field, bringing Vickie Lamb to the dish with a chance to win the game. Lamb smashed a single to right field, where sophomore Anna Soper misplayed the ball and received an error. Kotysnki was already going to third on the single, and with Soper's miscue, she reached home to win the game.

The Pirates scored their other run in the first inning. McKenzie Richards singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Galicinao. Then Neil misplayed a line drive hit by Lamb, scoring Richards.

In the nightcap, the Tigers continued to struggle with their hitting. Princeton fell to Seton Hall, 4-1, with the Pirates scoring two runs in the first inning.

Kotysnki provided much of Seton Hall's scoring punch again, going 3-for-3 from the plate with two runs and an RBI.

For the Tigers, Galicinao took over at first base and picked up the Tigers' sole RBI after being walked by Pirate reliever Barbie LaFogg. Freshman pitcher Wendy Bingham, who handled the duties on the mound for the entire game, scored on the play.

LaFogg came into the inning to relieve Pirate starter Casey McDevitt, who was charged with the run. LaFogg picked up the save, and McDevitt earned the win to improve to 2-0 on the year.

Princeton's bats were more active during the nightcap. The Tigers had eight hits, compared to just three in the first game, but still managed to score just one run in both contests. Bingham, senior outfielder Lori Volker and junior shortstop Kim Veenstra each had two hits for Princeton.

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The Tigers might have had some momentum coming into yesterday's doubleheader, but their stuggling bats extinguished it. In last weekend's doubleheader with currently-ranked No. 20 St. Peter's, the Tigers came back from a disappointing 1-0 extra-inning loss in the first game to easily take the nightcap by a final of 4-0.

For the final game of its regular season, Princeton will be heading to Shea Field in Chestnut Hill, Mass., where it is scheduled to play a doubleheader against Boston College at noon Sunday. The Eagles (29-24 overall) will be entering the matchup with a four-game winning streak.

(Senior writer Ramesh Nagarajan contributed to this article.)