As real spring weather finally arrived, the softball team played its second-to-last Ivy League series over the weekend in a crucial pair of doubleheaders against league-leading Penn. On Saturday, the Tigers got hammered, 11-1, but recovered to beat the Quakers, 6-3, in the second game. The next day, Princeton dropped another opener, 6-3, but once again followed it with a win, 4-3, to split the weekend.
"Penn was a much better team than we have seen in years past, and they definitely came out to play," senior tri-captain and designated player Calli Jo Varner said.
The first game against the Quakers initially stayed close behind the pitching of junior Kris Schaus (9-12), who allowed only one of the first eight batters to reach. With a nine-strikeout game, Schaus moved into second place on Princeton's career strikeout list with 600, surpassing the 596 thrown by head coach Maureen Barron '97.
Schaus ran in trouble, though, in the fifth inning. With Penn already up 2-1, Quaker slugger Julia Cheney, who went four-for-four with five RBI on the game, crushed a three-run homer to extend her team's lead to four. It only got worse in the next inning, when Penn scored six more runs and put the game out of reach for the Tigers.
"I was absolutely shellacked," Schaus said. "They swung the bats and put the ball in play, and unfortunately, it got out of control."
Princeton managed only three hits in the game compared to Penn's 14, and its only run came on a homer by sophomore shortstop Kathryn Welch. The contest ended after six innings thanks to the 10-run rule, but the Tigers quickly turned the momentum in the second game of the day.
Though Princeton was down early, 2-0, after the first inning, it didn't let the game get out of hand this time. Sophomore leftfielder Brianna Moreno, who was three-for-four in the game, scored on a wild pitch in the third inning to halve the Tiger deficit. In the following inning, Moreno and Welch each knocked in runs to put Princeton ahead, 3-2.
After Penn tied the game on an RBI double by Cheney, sophomore rightfielder Erin Miller hit a double to get the Tigers' fifth inning started. Following two quick outs, sophomore third baseman Jackie Araneo grabbed the lead back for Princeton for good when she singled to drive home Miller.
The Tigers produced a couple of insurance runs in the sixth, but freshman pitcher Jamie Lettire (8-7) — who came on as relief for starting pitcher Varner — didn't need the extra cushion. After Cheney's double, Varner did not allow another Quaker run.
"I am really proud that we were able to come out and take back the second game," Varner said. "We had a total team effort, from pitching to fielding to hitting."
For the victory to matter, though, Princeton needed to take one more from Penn during the second doubleheader to stay alive in the Ivy League South divisional race.
In Sunday's first game, the Tigers trailed 2-1 after three innings, but starting pitcher Lettire helped herself out with a home run to left field in the fourth. The no-doubter came after a single by Miller and put the Tigers on top by one, but the 3-2 lead would not hold for long.
Penn responded with a home run of its own in the next inning to retake the lead, 4-3, and added two more on yet another homer in the seventh. The Tigers went down in order in their half of the inning, and the Quakers claimed the victory.
Just like in the first game, Princeton was down 2-1 early in the nightcap but came back in the bottom of the third. Moreno reached on a Quaker error, and she scored when Welch launched her third home run of the year to put the Tigers on top, 3-2.
Princeton added another run on a sacrifice fly by Lettire to score Moreno from third in the sixth inning.
Schaus, who pitched a complete game, gave up a line-drive home run to the lead-off hitter in the bottom of the seventh but then retired the next three batters to clinch the 4-3 win and the weekend split.
Princeton will play two doubleheaders against Cornell next weekend, in Ithaca, N.Y., on Friday and on Sunday at Class of 1895 field, in the final conference games of the season.
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