Softball defeated by Minnesota in NCAA Regionals opener

After a six year hiatus from the NCAA Regionals, Princeton was hoping to carry the magic it had in the regular season to the postseason.

However, Princeton fell 2-1 in the opening game of the tornament to host Minnesota (36-19).

Princeton (34-17) entered the 48-team tournament ranked No. 4 in their division of six teams. While yesterday's loss put a damper on the Tiger's postseason hopes, it did not extinguish them altogether since the tournament is double-elimination. In order to advance to the eight-team Women's World Series, Princeton will have to win the rest of their games.

What carried the Tigers throughout the season — their pitching — almost carried them once again yesterday. Senior hurler Brie Galicinao was outstanding and did all that she could to give the Tiger's a chance to win. In throwing a complete game, she struck out 11 batters, allowed four hits and two runs, only one of which was earned.

"Brie [Galicinao] rose to the occasion and threw one of her best games this year," head coach Maureen Davies '97 said.

Princeton scratched out its only run in the top of the first inning, taking advantage of an error by the Minnesota shortstop. Sophomore first baseman Kristin Del Calvo reached on a fielder's choice with two outs in the inning. Senior shortstop Kim Veenstra then walked to put runner's at first and second for freshman third baseman Becky Nemec. Nemec hit the ball to the shortstop, who committed a costly error and allowed Del Calvo to run home.

Galicinao's only mistake was to Joanne Nygren in the bottom of the first inning, and Nygren made her pay by taking the ball deep over the centerfield fence. That tied the game at one.

Minnesota scored the winning run in the third. The Golden Gophers loaded the bases with one out. Galicinao appeared on her way to getting out of the jam when she struck out Nygren, but an error allowed Minnesota's Erin Wallace to come home from third with the winning run of the game.

The Tigers would threaten after that, their best chance coming in the top of the fifth inning. Galicinao singled to short and freshman second baseman Kristin Lueke followed with a single to left to put runners on first and second with two outs. However, Del Calvo was caught out by the shortstop to end both the inning and the Tigers last real scoring threat of the game.

"It was a great game for both teams and a tough loss for us," Davies said. "We played well but we just left too many runners on base."

The women's Division 1 championship tournament is made up of eight regional tournaments, with the eight winners moving onto the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Each of the eight regional tournaments is made up of six teams. With a 48-team field, there are 24 automatic bids given to league winners, and the other 24 teams are given at-large bids.

With the tournament laden with the nation's best softball teams, Prince-ton has to fight an uphill battle because the team was placed into the second hardest regional bracket.

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The Tiger's bracket includes No. 2 Arizona, who is always one of the best teams in the country. Finishing second in the Pacific 10 just behind UCLA, Arizona has one of their strongest teams in recent memory, and they are the favorite to win the bracket. Also in the regional tournament with Princeton are DePaul (46-9), Penn State (32-25) and Boston University (28-22).

Up next for the Tigers is the winner of the game between Boston University and Penn State. All three teams have lost one game, so the next loss for any of them spells the end of their postseason. Minnesota moves on to play Depaul.

"We've got one game under our belts, and now we're getting ready for tomorrow," Davies said.

The team is not ready for its season to come to such an abrupt end, and Galicinao has made it quite clear that she will have no part in that happening.