Softball drops series to Dartmouth as rough season continues

After playing one of their best games of the season early Friday afternoon, the Princeton softball team seemed to gain some momentum. By Saturday night, all of that momentum was gone.

Despite winning the first game against Dartmouth 6–0 on Friday at the Class of 1895 Field, the Tigers lost the series to the Big Green two games to one. They fell 8–6 in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader and were thoroughly outmatched in Saturday’s rubber match, which resulted in a 12–1 loss. The Tigers (5–20 overall, 3–6 Ivy), dropped their second straight Ivy League series and lost any remaining momentum they had from their series win over Brown two weeks ago.

Things looked good at the start of the weekend, as the Tigers came out firing on all cylinders in their 6–0 victory in game one. Freshman pitcher Allie Reynolds was the hero for the Orange and Black, pitching her second shutout of the season and only allowing four runners to reach as far as second, while striking out four batters on 118 pitches. The turning point came in the bottom of the fifth inning when the Tigers — then leading 2–0 over the Big Green — plated three more runs after junior catcher Kaylee Grant doubled to score two base runners, then came around to score herself after a Dartmouth throwing error. The five run lead allowed Reynolds to stay in the final two innings to earn another complete game shutout.

After the confidence-building game one win, the Tigers looked to close out the double header with a win and take the series. In one of the most exciting games of the season, the Tigers took an early lead when sophomore infielder Allison Harvey launched an RBI double into the gap in the bottom of the first.

Later trailing 3–1, freshman outfielder Mackenzie Meyer launched a home run over the fence to tie the game. Princeton would trail 8–4 heading into the final inning, but would climb back to within two runs after RBIs by Harvey and Grant. With runners on first and second, the Tigers looked poised to mount a comeback, but couldn’t push the runners home as they grounded out to end the game. Falling in a great back-and-forth game, the Tigers hoped they could win the series with a Saturday victory over Dartmouth.

Unfortunately, the Tigers would not win on Saturday; in fact, they didn’t even come close as they were blown out 12–1 in five innings. Princeton gave up four home runs in the game, including two in the first three batters. Dartmouth would break the game open in the fourth with six runs, taking a 12–0 lead and forcing the game to end early. The Tigers would avoid being shut out with a run in the fourth, but left the field on Saturday with a bitter taste in their mouths as they failed to earn the series win against Dartmouth.

Up next for the Tigers is a non-conference home game against Monmouth on Tuesday night. Then, the Tigers travel to Connecticut to take on Yale in a three game series. The last place Tigers are hoping to leap ahead of the Bulldogs in the standings with a series win this upcoming weekend and maybe find some momentum heading into the final few weeks of the season.