Lack of fire leads softball to drop doubleheader on the road

A rest from Ivy League play resulted in a flatter performance by the softball team at Seton Hall last Tuesday. Despite some individual highs, the team squandered early leads in both games to give over the doubleheader to the Pirates, 9-3 and 2-1.

In the first game, Seton Hall (26-11 overall) climbed onto the scoreboard in the first inning when, with the bases loaded and two outs, Pirate Darcy Djaka-lovic singled to score her teammate, Laura Taylor.

But the top of the third provided a jump start for Princeton (18-14-1, 8-1-0 Ivy League). With sophomore second base Kristin Lueke, junior first base Wendy Bingham, and freshman infield Cristina Cobb-Adams all singling to load the bases, it was sophomore pitcher/infield Melissa Finley who fired the only offensive highpoint of the opening game. Finley nailed a double to left to bring all three of her teammates home, moving Princeton into a 3-1 lead.

The Tigers' momentum died, however, before the third inning had even ended. A quick home run by Seton Hall's Laura Taylor followed by an overthrow by Princeton that advanced teammate Mary Carroll Smith to second set the tone for the five hits and five runs that followed.

Already off to a 6-3 lead, the Pirates were not through with their swashbuckling of Princeton. After freshman pitcher Erin Snyder intentionally walked Taylor, Smith hit a grounder up the middle to score two more runs, giving the Pirates an 8-3 advantage.

Fielding errors were a problem for the Tigers and pitching needed an adjustment. As a result Finley replaced Snyder.

The change proved fruitless, however, as Djakalovic nailed Finley's first pitch for a solo home run — the first home run of her college career.

The second game told a similar tale, with the Tigers taking the first leap ahead in the top of the fifth. After sophomore outfield Nicole Davida bunted to reach first base, Bingham singled. Cobb-Adams singled to bring Davida home and put Princeton ahead, 1-0.

History repeated itself, as Seton Hall picked it up once again — the Pirates did not let the end of the fifth go by without retaliating. A triple followed by a double brought home one runner for Seton Hall, leveling the score. After a wild pitch and another hit, the Pirates put up their second run, sealing the Tigers' fate.

"We came out a little flat," Cobb-Adams said. "We didn't come out as fired up as we normally are, maybe because this wasn't an Ivy League game."