Softball dominates Rider in doubleheader, remains undefeated at home

The softball team is not just good at home, it is perfect. Now 6-0 at Princeton, the Tigers have outscored their opponents 39-5, and continued their dominance yesterday by defeating Rider twice in a doubleheader, 9-1 and 5-2.

With Princeton's (19-13 overall, 6-0 Ivy League) two aces pitching in the doubleheader, the Tigers knew that they would control the afternoon.

Sophomore Wendy Bingham started the first game. The left-hander overpowered Rider, mixing four hits in four innings pitched. Rider managed an unearned run in the second inning, but that was all that Bingham allow in the game.

Princeton's offense did its part to made Bingham's day easier.

Seniors Kim Veenstra and Brie Galicinao put the game away in the first two innings. Galicinao tripled down the right field line to open the game, and the Tigers took off from there. Sophomore Kristen Del Calvo singled to score Galicinao, putting the Tigers ahead, 1-0. As the third batter of the game Veenstra scored the winning run by slamming a two-run home run over the left-field fence.

With a 3-0 lead going into the top of the second, Bingham took over. While she did not dominate the game with strike outs, the Tiger allowed only one walk and forced Rider to put the ball in play. Her teammates backed her up on defense, making a solid contribution by fielding almost every play and making only two errors.

With the Tigers leading, 3-1, going into the bottom of the second, the Princeton offense picked up where it left off in the first, as Princeton scored another three runs, making the score 6-1. The Tigers then added one in the third. In the bottom of the fifth, freshman Kristin Lueke hit a line drive single into center field scoring the runner on third to making the score 9-1 and end the game by the slaughter rule.

Forgetting about the mercy rule, the freshman stretched her single into a double and then looked around in surprise when all of the Rider infielders started to walk off the field. But Lueke was allowed to make that mistake, as she went three for four on the game.

The second game began as a pitchers dual, but once the Tigers got their bats going, Princeton made it impossible for Rider to keep its potent offense off the scoreboard. In the bottom of the third, back-to-back doubles by sophomore Kristen Del Calvo and Veenstra got the momentum going for the Tigers by scoring three runs and giving Princeton a 3-0 advantage over the Broncs.

With Galicinao — the Ivy League Pitcher of the Week — on the mound, the Tigers knew that a 3-0 lead would definitely hold up through the game. Unlike her Ivy League outings last weekend, Galicinao was not perfect, but she pitched well enough to protect the lead.

After the excitement of the three runs in the third, the Tigers let down just a little and allowed an unearned Rider run in the top of the fourth. This was the only run scored against Galicinao, but it was more than the zero runs and two hits that she had allowed in 16 innings of Ivy League pitching last weekend. In her six innings of pitching against Rider, Galicinao gave up four hits, and one unearned run. More impressively, she had seven strike-outs and no walks.

Galicinao also helped Prince-ton's cause at the plate, hitting a double and a homerun. Besides being the winning pitcher, Galicinao was a single away from the cycle in the afternoon. She hit two doubles, a triple and a homerun.

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Rider attempted a comeback in the top of the seventh inning, but senior Sarah Jane White stemmed the Rider attack. The Tiger allowed only one run on one hit for the five batters that she faced.

Now in the middle of a winning streak, the Tigers are starting to find their rhythm. Besides winning in blowouts, the games this week have proven that the Tigers are now able to do what they could not accomplish during their spring break trip to Atlanta — win close games.

With confidence, strong pitching and the team now in a hot streak at the plate, the Tigers should be in good shape — even if the game is tight — for their upcoming doubleheader against Towson tomorrow at 3 p.m at Princeton.