The softball team won three of four games in a pair of doubleheaders against Columbia at home this weekend to take the second-place standing in the Ivy League South Division. The Tigers started out ahead in most of their games, scoring in the first inning in three of the four.
“We made it a goal to score in the first inning of every game,” sophomore infielder Rachel Rendina said. “And we made it a goal to win every inning.”
In Saturday’s opener, the Tigers scored in the first inning as senior outfielder Lizzy Pierce doubled and was brought home by a single from sophomore infielder Alyssa Schmidt and a groundout by senior pitcher Alex Peyton. The Tigers pulled further ahead in the third, taking advantage of a pair of Columbia errors. Freshman infielder Kate Miller pinch-ran for Schmidt, taking over after Schmidt advanced to second and eventually scoring off a single by junior catcher Maddie Cousens. Peyton scored as well to bring the score to 3-0, where it stayed for the remaining four innings. She also kept the Lions from scoring and allowed only four hits in the seven innings, with six strikeouts.
The Tigers also came out on top in the second game of the day, 2-1. Princeton scored in the first inning, when Rendina singled, stole second, advanced to third off a single from Pierce and crossed home as Schmidt grounded out. However, the Lions responded with a run in the second inning to tie the game. The game remained tied until the ninth inning, when sophomore catcher Cara Worden reached base on an error and scored after Rendina walked with the bases loaded. Freshman pitcher Shanna Christian kept the Lions to five hits in nine innings and struck out four.
The Lions started out ahead on Sunday with a run in the second inning. The Tigers tied the game in the fifth with a run by senior infielder Nikki Chu, but Columbia scored in the top of the sixth to take back the lead. The Tigers tied it up in the bottom of the frame when Cousens scored off a single by Worden. A run in the bottom of the seventh by Rendina sealed the win for the Tigers. Senior pitcher Liza Kuhn opened the game, allowing two runs and walking five through five-and-two-thirds of an inning, and Christian finished the game, allowing just one hit to earn the win.
Rendina scored in the first inning of the nightcap, but the Lions answered with a run in the second. After a scoreless third inning, the Tigers pulled ahead again in the fourth with a run by Worden, but the Lions answered back with two in the fifth and held Princeton scoreless for the remaining innings to win 3-2. Peyton took the loss, pitching seven innings and allowing seven hits and three runs.
The Tigers took advantage of Columbia’s errors while staying consistent in the field in each of their wins, but missed opportunities stood in the way of a Princeton sweep.
“We played solid defense, which helped us a lot,” Rendina said. “The bats weren’t as hot as they could have been, but we know we can score more runs. We just need to hit a few more key hits earlier in the game.”
Next weekend the Tigers play at Cornell in the hopes of keeping their South Division prospects alive. They will need a sweep of the Big Red (17-23, 7-9) and a sweep of Penn by Columbia in order to force a playoff for the South Division title.
“We have a good team vibe right now coming off of these Columbia games, so I think this will set us up for some good games this coming weekend,” Christian said.
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