Princeton University
Brown
Softball Wins Ivy League Title with Sweep of Brown
April 21, 2002 | Softball
April 21, 2002
Final Stats
Princeton, N.J. - Melissa Finley hit two home runs, including one grand slam as the Tigers defeated Brown 6-1 in the second game of the doubleheader. Earlier in the day, Princeton defeated Brown, 10-3. With the sweep, Princeton finished the Ivy season at 13-1, and captures its first softball Ivy title since 1996. In the first game of a doubleheader, Harvard lost to Cornell 5-1, leaving the Crimson with two losses in league play and Princeton sole possession of the championship. Princeton improves to 29-15-0, 13-1 IVY.
"It feels great," said head coach Maureen Davies, "they definitely deserve it. It's been a total team effort all season. Someone has always stepped up and we've played hard every game." The Tigers jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the first game in the second inning and never looked back. The Tigers posted four more runs in the fourth inning to increase the lead to 6-0. Brown posted three runs in the top of the fifth, but the Tigers added three more runs in the fifth to increase the score to 10-7.
Brie Galicinao hit 3-for-4 at the plate, hitting one double and registering five RBIs. Bingham hit 2-for-2, scored two runs and tallied three RBIs. Finley scored three runs and hit 2-for-3.
Galicinao was the winning pitcher in the first game, striking out five Brown batters and allowing four hits. She stands at 15-6 on the year.
Finley made it happen in the nightcap. She was the winning pitcher and knocked in all the runs scored by the Tigers in the 6-1 victory.
Brown opened a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Lauren Leonetti, who led of with a double, scored on a ball hit off the bat of Julia Iudicello.
Finley's first homerun came in the third inning and scored Kim Veenstra to put the Tigers up 2-1. Finley's grandslam, in the fifth put the Tigers up 6-1. Kristin Del Calvo hit a double down the right field line to open the fifth. Veenstra reached on an error by the second baseman and Becky Nemec walked to load the bases. Finley's blast over the left field fence scored them all.
"This is what we've been working for all year," said Galicinao. "We're playing relaxed and everyone is getting the job done."
In a doubleheader, Harvard split with Cornell. With the loss, Harvard stands at 10-2 in the League. With only one loss in against Ivy opponents, Princeton has captured its first Ivy title since 1996 (47-8-1, 11-1 IVY) and earned the League's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament that will be played May 16-19.
Thirteen league victories are the most in the Princeton program's history. In 1995, the Tigers went an undefeated 12-0. At that time, Columbia did not field a varsity team.
The Tigers return to action on Saturday, April 27 when Princeton hosts the Princeton Invitational.
PRINCETON 10 BROWN 3
Score by innings: R H E ------------------------------------------- Brown University 000 030 0 - 3 4 4 Princeton University 020 440 - 10 11 1 -------------------------------------------
E - Iudicello 2, Toth, Haskins, Lueke. DP - Brown 1. LOB - Brown 7, Princeton 5. 2B - Howe, Durlesser, Galicinao, Veenstra. SB - Omokaro, Lueke. SH - Wong, White.
Brown University IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Marissa Berkes...... 3.1 7 6 2 2 0 17 20 Uchenna Omokaro..... 2.2 4 4 2 1 1 12 13
Princeton University IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Brie Galicinao...... 7.0 4 3 0 5 5 25 31
PRINCETON 6 BROWN 1
Score by innings: R H E ------------------------------------------- Brown University 100 000 0 - 1 4 3 Princeton University 002 040 - 6 5 1 -------------------------------------------
E - Iudicello, Howe, Brown, Del Calvo. DP - Princeton 1. LOB - Brown 4, Princeton 6. 2B - Leonetti, Durlesser, Del Calvo, Finley. HR - Finley 2. SB - Veenstra. SF - Iudicello.
Brown University IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Erin Durlesser...... 6.0 5 6 4 3 5 27 30
Princeton University IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Melissa Finley...... 7.0 4 1 1 1 3 24 26