Softball splits doubleheader with Lehigh

In Wednesday's doubleheader versus Lehigh the softball team brought its 'A' game for the first contest but did not have it for game two.

The second game was a thriller as the Tigers (15-11-1 overall, 5-0 Ivy League) fell, 5-4, to the Mountain Hawks (26-7, 11-1 Patriot League) in extra innings.

After crushing Lehigh 8-0 in the opening game, Princeton was in a position to sweep the series until the Mountain Hawks rallied back for the win.

Game two went back and forth for five frames and the score was 3-2 in favor of the Tigers at the end of five innings of play. All was going well until sophomore pitcher Melissa Finley ran into some trouble in the top of the sixth. The inning started harmlessly enough when a Lehigh batter grounded out to Finley for a quick first out. However, the next two Mountain Hawk batters hit consecutive doubles to tie the score at three all.

Finley did not finish the inning and was relieved by junior pitcher Wendy Bingham after surrendering the tying run. Bingham came on in relief at a very tense moment for Princeton but showed great poise as she worked her way out of a tight jam. Bingham forced a ground out from the first batter she faced as the runners advanced to second and third base. Against the next batter Bingham forced another ground out to third base to get out of a pressure-packed sixth inning.

The score remained knotted at 3-3 until the tenth inning. The inning began with modified rules as each team started with a runner on second base. Bingham managed to retire the first two batters of the inning before giving up a single and a walk. With bases loaded, junior outfielder Shana Treon delivered for the Mountain Hawks, finding space for a double. Facing runners on second and third after Treon knocked in the two go ahead runs, Bingham recovered with a strikeout.

Considering the way the Tigers manhandled Lehigh in game one, everyone fully expected Princeton to overcome a mere two run deficit.

The final frame began with a ground out by sophomore OF/IF Kristin Lueke that advanced the runner that started on second base to third. Next Bingham ran out a grounder toward third for a single, keeping the rally alive. Freshman shortstop Cristina Cobb-Adams then drilled a ball straight down into the ground and took off for first for a single to load the bases.

Finley then hit a single to bring Princeton within a run, but it was all she wrote, figuratively speaking, after that. The Tigers just could not push the tying run across the plate, as freshman pitcher Erin Snyder made the final out, finishing the doubleheader on somewhat of a low note.