The softball team bounced back from two Saturday losses to Harvard by sweeping Dartmouth yesterday in its second doubleheader of the weekend. The theme of the first day was Harvard home runs — four to be exact — as the Crimson (13-9 overall, 4-2 Ivy League) won 5-2 and 3-1. The Tigers (15-20, 6-2) brought their offense against Dartmouth (6-21, 2-6), though, claiming 6-1 and 5-3 victories.
Princeton's weekend-opening game against the Crimson was tied at two before Harvard's Julia Kidder launched a two-run shot over the wall in the third inning. Kidder picked up her second and third RBI of the game and put her team on top for good.
Junior pitcher Kristen Schaus (6-9) started the game for the Tigers, giving up just two runs and striking out seven, but she lasted only four innings before freshman Jamie Lettire came on in relief.
In the second game against Harvard, senior Calli Jo Varner (3-7) pitched a complete game and gave up only three runs, but she received little run support from the offense. All three Crimson runs came on solo homers in consecutive innings, while Princeton scored its only run in the fifth, when sophomore shortstop Kathryn Welch hit a double to bring home freshman outfielder Kelsey Quist.
"The people in front of me got on base, and we were able to string a few hits together," Welch said.
The shortstop drove in two of the three Tiger runs on the day, but her effort was not enough to prevent two Crimson victories.
"It's rough getting swept, especially by Harvard," senior centerfielder and tri-captain Stephanie Steel said after Saturday's games. "We are all really disappointed and ready to come out hard tomorrow and take it to Dartmouth."
Princeton did just that, and the team's focus was apparent from the first pitch. The Tigers seemed more confident and more in control than they did against Harvard.
"It was a completely different ball team," Jamie Lettire said. "We had a much more positive attitude, and our bats came alive."
Lettire picked up both wins yesterday, pitching a complete game in the first contest and winning in a relief effort in the nightcap.
Welch was once again crucial to Princeton's offense. The theme song from the hit television show "The Office" blared over the loudspeakers at 1895 Field before Welch's third-inning at-bat in Game 1, and she was all business as she stepped up to the plate.
With two on and no outs, the cleanup hitter came through with a line drive down the left-field line.
Both baserunners came around to score, and Welch stood on third with a two-RBI triple.
Freshman second baseman Collette Abbott followed the big hit with a well-placed bunt, and the squeeze play allowed Welch to score.
With a 3-0 lead after three innings, the Tigers wouldn't stop there.
Princeton tacked on two home runs — a solo shot by Quist in the fourth and a two-run blast by Varner an inning later — as the team tried to make up for Harvard's Saturday home run frenzy.
In the second game against Dartmouth, the Tigers again jumped to an early lead. With two on and two out in the first inning, Lettire dropped a hit in front of the leftfielder, and Welch came around from second to score for a 1-0 lead.
But the Big Green posted two runs to take a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth, and the stage was set for a Princeton comeback.
Varner started things with a solo home run to cut the deficit in half.
After two quick outs, junior first baseman Beth Dalmut reached on an infield single and advanced to second when Steel walked.
Sophomore leftfielder Brianna Moreno drilled a two-strike pitch past the diving Dartmouth third baseman, coming up with a double to score Dalmut and tie the score at three.
Welch added two more to her weekend RBI total on an infield single when she scrambled to first and collided with the Dartmouth first baseman, who was stretching in a futile attempt to snag the ball. Welch hurt her knee on the play, but both Steel and Moreno scored to put Princeton on top by two.
Lettire worked around two base runners in the seventh inning to seal the comeback victory for the Tigers.
Princeton will face Lehigh at home Wednesday at 3 p.m. looking to build on its two-game winning streak. They return to Ivy competition with four games against Columbia next weekend.
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