Softball: Princeton breaks 11-game losing streak with win over Brown, drops three more games on road

The team had a rough start to its first game, as the Bears pounced on freshman pitcher Liza Kuhn early for five runs in the first inning. Kuhn rebounded, though, teaming with senior pitcher Jamie Lettire to hold Brown scoreless for the rest of the game.

But the Tigers were unable to get their own bats going and were shut out 5-0. Lettire pitched the final two-and-two-thirds innings of the game and picked up her first win of the season in the second game.

“Jamie was awesome,” head coach Trina Salcido said. “She did a great job and came ready to pitch. She definitely showed her senior leadership in the circle.”

Brown pitcher Kristie Chin gave up just four hits and struck out Princeton nine times.

“She was throwing slower than we’re used to, but at the same time, we just didn’t make the plays at the plate,” Salcido said. “Our hitters know better and know that we need to respond in the early innings to get back in the game.”

“I think we were just having trouble adjusting, but we faced the same pitcher in the second game and were able to adjust much better, so it just took time,” Lettire added.

With a 6-5 comeback victory in the second game, the team snapped an 11-game losing streak that started when the team came back from its spring trip to California.

The Tigers picked up two runs off Chin in the last two innings of the second game to take home the win.

Between the games, Salcido reminded her players of the choices they face when they play.

“We talked about how everything’s a choice — whether you want to adjust at the plate, whether you want to calm yourself and be able to take an opportunity in a pressure situation,” Salcido said.

“It was great,” Lettire said. “It was just awesome to put it all together and have it all work at the right time.”

Freshman designated hitter Alex Peyton contributed three hits, as did freshman catcher Sarah Rounsifer, who also drove in the game’s winning run with a single in the seventh inning.

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Senior outfielder Kelsey Quist collected the 100th and 101st RBIs of her career with a game-tying two-run double in the fifth inning.

Brown pulled ahead by one again in its half of the fifth, but a sacrifice fly by sophomore infielder Kelsey VandeBergh in the sixth and Rounsifer’s RBI single sealed the win for the Tigers.

“In that second game, they were just tired and they decided that they were going to fight,” Salcido said. “They fought and they battled back, and that’s the team we know can do good things. It’s nice to remember what it’s like to fight for a game and come out on the winning side.”

The team suffered another setback in its opener against Yale, though, falling 11-2 in a five-inning game that was shortened by the inning rule.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Peyton, but the Bulldogs immediately fought back with six runs in the bottom half of the inning. Utility player Christy Nelson, third baseman Allie Cannuli and infielder Jennifer Ong each contributed three RBIs.

Princeton once again pounced on the Bulldog pitching early, with Quist’s fifth home run of the season putting the Tigers ahead 2-0 in the first.

The squad let Yale back into the game and more, and the Bulldogs put together a 6-2 lead by the fourth inning.

Princeton came roaring back in the fifth with a four-run rally, but the Bulldogs retook the lead on a bases-loaded, two-out single in the sixth and held on to it for an 8-6 win.

Princeton will continue its Ancient Eight schedule with a four-game series against Columbia next weekend.