Softball wins two behind strong pitching effort

Unexpected players provided the power for Princeton this weekend, but the Tigers' usual workhorses carried them to two victories in the rain-shortened Princeton Invitational.

In the four-team tournament, Princeton played Manhattan and then Seton Hall on Saturday. The Tigers were scheduled to play St. Peters on Sunday, but the game was rained out. The weekend was a big success for the Tigers (31-15, 13-1 Ivy), as the team won both of their games, 9-2, and 3-2.

The two games on Saturday were very different. The Manhattan game was a cruiser for the Tigers, as a five-run first inning propelled the Tigers through the game.

Seton Hall, on the other hand, provided much more of a fight for Princeton. The Pirates matched the Tigers' offense and made the game a pitchers' dual. By the end of Saturday, it was clear that the Tigers' pitching staff of senior Brie Galicinao and sophomore Wendy Bingham would dominate the weekend, the same way they have controlled every other doubleheader the Tigers have played since spring break.

Saturday began rocky for Princeton. The left-handed pitcher Bingham started the Manhattan game. The Tigers have dominated the first inning all season long, but the Jaspers gave Princeton a scare by scoring two runs in the top of the first. The Tigers were not put off balance too much. Galicinao led off the inning, and, as usual, she had success against Manhattan's pitcher. What has now become habit for the Tigers, after Galicinao's strong leadoff at-bat, the rest of the Tigers were also successful against the pitcher. By the end of the explosive inning, the Tigers had scored five runs, and put the game out of reach for good.

After the first inning, Bingham settled down and the Tigers steamrolled the Jaspers. Bingham did not allow another run after the first inning. She finished the game allowing two earned runs on eight hits. She also tallied four strikeouts while allowing only two walks.

Princeton's offense took off again in the bottom of the third, when the Tigers scored three more runs. Senior shortstop Kim Veenstra and freshman Becky Nemec led the Tiger offense, as both batters were two-for-four on the game. Nemec and freshman Melissa Finley exhibited the power. Nemec hit her second homer of the season and Finley hit the first triple of her Princeton career.

The Tigers' second game was more stressful than the first. Differing from their normal start, the Tigers did not have a high-scoring first inning. The zero-zero tie did not end until the fourth inning, when Veenstra hit her seventh homerun of the season. The solo shot gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead. But the Tigers were not complacent after Veenstra's homer. Later in the inning, junior Erin Valocsik homered with one runner on base, making the score 3-0. But those three runs were all that the Tigers could muster against Seton Hall.

Fortunately for Princeton, the ace pitcher Galicinao was on the hill. Normally, one run is all that Galicinao needs to win a game, but as it turned out, Valocsik's two-run homer was the game winner.

In the top of the sixth, the Pirates' bats finally caught up with Galicinao. In a shaky inning for the Tigers, the Pirates managed to bang out two runs in the inning. With the Tiger lead on the line, however, Galicinao buckled down and ended the inning.

Always dependable for a Princeton win, Galicinao pitched seven innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits. She also mixed in seven strike-outs, while only walking one.

The Tigers were scheduled to meet St. Peters at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon for the championship, but the weather did not allow the championship game to be played, and Princeton finished the weekend 2-0.

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The Tigers only have one more regular season game remaining. On Wednesday they will play a doubleheader against St. Josephs, with the first game starting at 3 p.m.