Princeton splits games with Lehigh

As darkness and rain began to fall Wednesday evening on the Class of 1895 Field, the softball team (16-21 overall, 6-2 Ivy League) looked satisfied with its win against Patriot League powerhouse Lehigh (20-15-1) and relieved to be able to escape the cold.

Princeton fell 10-2 to the Mountain Hawks in first game of yesterday's doubleheader but was victorious in the second match-up of the afternoon, 3-2. Lehigh had a total of 14 hits in the two games, while the Orange and Black had 10. Most of Princeton's offense, however, appeared in the nightcap.

"In the second game, we came out with a much greater intensity," head coach Maureen Barron said. "In the first game, we scored two runs in the first inning but didn't finish the game."

The Tigers looked strong early in the first game. The top of Princeton's lineup rattled the Mountain Hawk's sophomore pitcher, Lisa Sweeney, grabbing a 2-0 lead on two hits and three walks. But Princeton's offense went quiet later in the inning, as Sweeney settled down. The Tigers left three runners on base.

Senior pitcher Calli Jo Varner shut down Lehigh for the first two innings. But the Mountain Hawk offense — the Patriot League's best — regrouped in the top of the third; after Varner walked the first batter, Lehigh's rightfielder, Kate Marvel, doubled to left field. Varner hit the next batter, loading the bases for cleanup hitter Lauren Haney. Haney singled, scoring two runs and tying the score.

Lehigh's potent offense, however, continued to surge in the top of the fourth. With runners on second and third and two outs, Taryn Hanley doubled, driving in two runs and giving the Mountain Hawks their first lead of the afternoon, 4-2.

Lehigh scored again on an error and then quickly reloaded the bases for star Lauren Haney. With Varner already on the ropes, Haney drilled her first fastball well over the head of senior centerfielder Stephanie Steel for a grand slam.

Princeton's offense responded to the onslaught immediately. Sophomore infielder Jackie Araneo and outfielder Erin Miller led off the bottom of the fourth with a pair of singles. Sophomore catcher Samantha O'Hara executed a sacrifice bunt, moving Araneo and Miller into scoring position. The Tigers, however, could not capitalize on their scoring opportunities, and no runs came out of the rally.

The Tigers performed far better in the nightcap, thanks largely to the pitching and hitting of freshman Jamie Lettire.

The Mountain Hawk team that embarrassed Princeton under the mercy rule just hours before was unable to make things happen against Lettire.

Down 2-1 in the bottom of the third, Lettire sent Tiffany Curtis' fastball sailing into the right-center gap for a double. She advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored after Steel hit a single up the middle. Lettire helped her own cause again in the bottom of the fifth with a single, but she was left stranded on third.

The Tigers finally pulled ahead, 3-2, in the sixth, when Miller hit a double, scoring freshman outfielderKelsey Quist.