Softball: Comeback efforts fail in defeats

“I think we’re playing poorly,” Salcido said minutes after Princeton (7-11 overall, 2-2 Ivy League) dropped a 2-1 game against Brown (5-13, 1-3) to split their doubleheader on Sunday.

The day before, the Tigers split a pair of 3-2 games against Yale (10-12, 1-1).

Despite strong pitching from its starters — sophomore pitcher Michelle Tolfa and junior pitcher Jamie Lettire gave up nine runs through all four games — Princeton’s powerful bats were not up to the task this weekend.

“I think giving up two runs, with our hitters, should dictate a win,” Salcido said.

Unlike last year, when the Tigers stormed to 14 straight wins to begin their Ivy League season, Princeton suffered a quick setback in its title defense. Tolfa pitched well in the team’s first game Saturday, but two late-game errors proved to be the difference in the Tigers’ 3-2 loss to the Bulldogs.

Princeton’s first frame began with two innocuous outs. Senior infielder Kathryn Welch, however, changed the tone with a 10-pitch walk against Yale starting pitcher Rebecca Wojciak. Junior outfielder Kelsey Quist then launched a two-run home run off a 2-2 pitch to give the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.

The Bulldogs quickly recovered, scoring two runs of their own in the top of the third inning. Outfielder Virginia Waldrop led the inning off with a single and advanced to second on a well-executed sacrifice bunt from outfielder Ashley Sloan. A double from infielder Katie Yanagisawa plated Yale’s first run, and a wild pitch followed by a sacrifice fly brought Yanagisawa home one batter later.

Unfortunately for Princeton, Wojciak settled into a groove after a shaky first inning. After giving up two walks and a homer in that frame, Wojciak allowed only three more hits and one walk over six scoreless innings.

Tolfa took the hard-luck loss in the pitchers’ duel, as her fielding error on a ground ball by Yale outfielder Lauren Huddleston gave the Bulldogs a scoring opportunity in the sixth inning. Huddleston moved up a base thanks to a sacrifice bunt, but infielder Megan Enyeart failed to drive the run home. The Tigers, however, could not get the last out before giving up a passed ball, allowing Huddleston to score the winning run.

Oddly enough, the second game was a mirror image of the first game, as it ended in a 3-2 victory for the Orange and Black. Lettire was in the circle for Princeton and started off the game with four dominant innings, striking out four batters and giving up only one hit. Still, the Tiger offense only provided two runs in support of Lettire in those first four innings.

Quist scored the first run after reaching base on a fielding error in the second inning. After a single from Lettire and a sacrifice bunt from junior infielder Collette Abbott, senior infielder Erin Miller drove in Quist with a sacrifice fly.

In the third inning, senior outfielder Brianna Moreno and freshman outfielder Nicole Ontiveros, two of the fastest players on the team, both reached on infield singles. Two batters later, Welch — who leads the team with 17 RBI — laced a single to centerfield to bring Moreno home and give Princeton a two-run cushion.

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Lettire ran into trouble in the fifth inning, giving up a leadoff double to Enyeart and walking catcher McKynlee Westman. Lettire almost got herself out of the jam, getting two outs before Waldrop hit a clutch single up the middle to score Enyeart and Westman.

The game reached the bottom of the seventh tied at one. Ontiveros started the inning off with a slap single to shortstop, and then the Bulldogs’ defense buckled. Freshman designated player Kelsey VandeBergh hit a high fly ball to shallow left field, and both shortstop Meg Johnson and Waldrop called for it. Waldrop misjudged its trajectory and failed to make the catch, giving Princeton another scoring opportunity.

Welch, the Tigers’ best run producer, came up next. She and Yale relief pitcher Kayla Kuretich fought a pitched battle: at one point, Welch fouled off three consecutive 1-2 pitches. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Welch hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop that skipped past the glove of Johnson. The Bulldog error was all Princeton needed as Ontiveros sped home for the walk-off run.

The Tigers then notched their most dominant win of the weekend in the first game of its doubleheader Sunday against Brown, an 8-2 Princeton romp keyed by several errors from the Bears.

The Tigers broke the game open during the fourth inning as Brown’s infield struggled to execute basic plays. Welch kicked off the inning in style with a home run, and Princeton earned its second run when sophomore infielder Kristin Arguedas scored on a single from sophomore infielder Megan Weidrick. Thanks to three errors and another Welch single, the Tigers ended up with four more runs — all of which came with two outs.

Lettire earned the win, tossing a complete game and allowing two runs.

In Princeton’s second meeting with the Bears, the Tigers were not so fortunate.

Tolfa started the game but left after three uneven innings, forcing Lettire to return for relief duty. Lettire pitched four scoreless innings, but Princeton mustered only one run in the 2-1 defeat. Salcido said she felt that her lineup lacked a sense of urgency, especially during the early innings.

“The team … is waiting until too late — waiting until the seventh inning — when they actually realize that the game is on the line,” Salcido said.

Perhaps the Tigers’ mediocre 2-2 record on the weekend will serve as a wake-up call. With 16 league games over the next four weekends, Princeton will have to step up its efforts to defend its Ivy title.