Princeton University
Cornell
Princeton's Five Homers Help Softball Sweep Cornell
April 18, 2003 | Softball
April 18, 2003
Box Score
ITHACA, N.Y. - Melissa Finley went 4 for 7 with four runs, three RBIs, and a home run, and Erin Valocsik, Cristina Cobb-Adams, and Erin Snyder each homered as Princeton swept Cornell, 8-3 and 8-7, at Niemand-Robison Field.
In the first game, the Tigers opened the scoring in the third when Kristin Lueke hit her first triple of the year with a line drive into right field. Melissa Finley then doubled down the leftfield line to score Lueke, and Erin Snyder copied that with her own double that brought home Finley. Amanda Erickson singled into right field, scoring Finley before the inning ended with the Tigers up 3-0. Cornell's MacKenzie Ryan and Lauren May hit solo home runs in the third and fourth innings to bring the Big Red within one run after four. Princeton opened the fifth with a base hit by Wendy Bingham and a two-run homer by Finley, the eighth for her this season, for a 5-2 Tiger lead. Valocsik hit her second homer of the season in the sixth before Cornell pitcher Whitney Smith relieved Sarah Sterman and ended the inning with Princeton ahead 6-2.
Kate Varde's homer, her fifth in a week, gave the Big Red another run before Snyder put the game away in the seventh. After Finley singled with a grounder, Snyder's two-run homer gave the Tigers the 8-3 win.
On the mound, Snyder finished with eight strikeouts and just one walk. Lueke batted 2 for 4 with a run and Erickson went 3 for 3.
In Game 2, Bingham got on base in the first with a sacrifice bunt before Cobb-Adams hit her first collegiate homer to score two. Cornell tied the game in the bottom of the second when a sacrifice fly put runners on second and third, and a single up the middle scored two runs.
The 2-2 tie was short-lived, as Princeton put another run on the board in the fourth with a single by catcher Ty Ries that scored Erickson, who got on with a double. The Tigers then loaded the bases with singles by Bingham and Cobb-Adams, and, with two outs against her, Snyder connected for her first collegiate grand slam and second homer of the day. Princeton led 7-2 and held the Big Red scoreless until the bottom of the seventh, which it entered with an 8-2 lead.
Cornell gave Princeton a scare in its final opportunity when, with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, it scored five runs. Caitlin Warren hit a home run, the ninth combined for the day, to score the final run before the Tigers walked away with the 8-7 win.
Snyder finished 2 for 3 with one run and five RBIs, and Cobb-Adams went 2 for 4 with three runs and two RBIs. Finley got the win on the mound with three strikeouts in seven innings.
The Tigers improve to 17-11-1 and 7-0 in the Ivy League while Cornell slips to 5-3 in the conference.