Two taken from Tigers by Towson

With only one loss in their past 11 games, the Tigers (20-11 overall, 6-0 Ivy League) were looking to continue their winning streak on the road for a doubleheader Wednesday against Towson (19-20). A pair of close losses, however, crushed their hopes of extending their string of victories. Princeton fell 2-1 in the first contest and lost by the same margin in the evening game, 3-2.

What plagued Princeton at the plates? Getting the Tigers home.

"We left so many base runners stranded in scoring position," Coach Barron said to explain the losses.

In game one, Princeton outhit Towson 7-4, but was unable to convert baserunners into runs. Towson put the first two points on the board in the third inning when Jen Hastings hit a home run, bringing herself and teammate Stephanie Fudurich around the plates.

The Tigers were unable to answer back despite several opportunities with runners in scoring positions. In Princeton's next-at-bat, senior catcher Amanda Erickson and junior first baseman Calli Jo Varner singled and doubled, respectively, but were unable to cut the deficit and bring a runner home.

"We just weren't able to drive the runs in that we needed," Barron said.

With one out in the sixth inning, things were looking up for the Tigers. Freshman utility Kathryn Welch singled and Varner followed up with a grounder between second and third plate. Welch took advantage of a fielding error on Towson's part to score the run. Princeton was not left much time to score again, however, as Towson soon found itself at bat after recovering two groundouts from the Orange and Black.

In the seventh inning, the Tigers had the bases loaded and one out. Out of the first four at-bats for Princeton, three singled, putting the Tigers in a great position to tie it up. A pop-up and a groundout, however, finished the game with Towson eking out a narrow victory.

Another disappointment

The Tigers had a similar fate in game two, despite all efforts to polish up their playing. Princeton just wanted to improve on the basics.

"It was just a matter of doing a better job," Barron said. "We told ourselves, let's play clean on defense."

Although Princeton started off in the lead, Towson was able to make up the deficit and pull ahead for the win. The first action came in the fourth inning when Welch knocked a cleanly hit double inside the bag at third, then Varner singled to put the Tigers in good position to score with runners on the corners. This time Princeton was able to take advantage of its opportunity and freshman catcher Samantha O'Hara brought the runner home from third with a hit up the left side.

Varner also showcased her pitching talent as she struck out Towson's first ten batters. Varner gave up only four hits and had four strikeouts. The fourth inning was the first time a Towson player was able to step on the bases. No runs were scored, however.

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"Varner had a really good game yesterday, both pitching and offensively," Barron said.

In the following inning, the Tigers further increased their lead when senior third baseman Lindsay Motal nailed a home run straight over the fence in left-center. It was her first home run of the season.

Towson answered back soon after and got two players on the bases with a single and a hit batter. Next at-bat Fudurich was on her last legs with two strikes and two outs. With a hit to centerfield, the Tigers looked like they were going to shut out the inning with a sliding catch by freshman centerfielder Brianna Moreno, but she was unable to keep the ball in her glove. Two Towson players scored, tying it up at 2-2.

"We just didn't get things done out there," Barron said.

For the win, Towson scored in the bottom of the seventh off a pitch from Varner that hit the backstop. The bases were loaded and the third base runner walked in after Varner threw the wild pitch, leaving the game at 3-2.

"We let the game get away from us, it wasn't that pitch that lost it," Barron said. "Overall, we just didn't have great games yesterday and it humbles us a little bit and makes us even more focused for our upcoming competition."

The Tigers have an important weekend coming up, facing off against Columbia and Cornell. If Princeton wins against Columbia it will have a guaranteed bid to post-season play.

"We've had a good start to our Ivy season," Barron said. "Destiny is in our hands: if we play great we can have great outcomes."