Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Fairfield
Softball Sweeps Fairfield With Repeat Comebacks
April 01, 2003 | Softball
April 1, 2003
Box Score
PRINCETON, N.J. - Melissa Finley went five for five with three runs and two RBIs and earned a win on the mound as the Tigers defeated Fairfield, 6-5 and 4-3, in two come-from-behind wins.
In the first game, Princeton took an early but short-lived lead behind Kristin Lueke's aggressiveness on the bases. Lueke singled to right field, advanced to second and third on the next two outs, and scored when Melissa Finley singled to center field.
The Tigers held a 1-0 lead until the fifth, when Fairfield put five runs on the board. First baseman Maria DiPilato walked and eventually scored when pitcher Tara Hansen singled to right field. A trio of doubles by Megan Miller, Shannon Logan, and Diana Fasano earned the runs for the Stags before the inning ended, 5-1, in favor of Fairfield. Princeton rallied in the sixth behind a solo home run by Finley. After Finley's fourth homer of the year, Kristin Del Calvo walked and Erin Snyder reached first on an error by DiPilato. A single by Amanda Erickson and a double to center field by Ty Ries brought them home, and the Tigers entered the seventh down a run, 5-4.
Princeton got four hits in the seventh, beginning with a single to third base by Finley. Del Calvo and Snyder hit back-to-back singles and eventually scored off a good eye by Erickson and a single by Ries. The Tigers finished the seventh ahead, 6-5, with just one error on the game.
The second game of the doubleheader started off like the first with Princeton gaining the first lead. Finley opened the second inning with a single to right field and advanced to second off a sacrifice bunt by Del Calvo. Snyder doubled to left field to score Finley before she was brought home by a double from Erickson, upping the Tigers' lead to 2-0.
Fairfield dominated the next few innings, holding Princeton scoreless, getting five hits off Finley, and scoring three runs in the fourth and fifth. Down 3-2 and with the umpires warning that the game would be called due to darkness, the Tigers picked up their pace.
In the bottom of the fifth, Erickson put Princeton back on the board with a game-tying homer, the first home run of the rookie's career. The Tigers held Fairfield in the crucial top of the sixth before their final chance to win in a game shortened by darkness.
The Tigers pulled through as Cristina Cob-Adams doubled, Finley walked, and Snyder hit the game-winning grounder to third base, scoring Cobb-Adams and closing the game with Princeton on top, 4-3.
Princeton evens its record at 9-9 overall and hosts Villanova this Thursday, April 3 at 2:30 p.m.