Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Rutgers (Game 1)
Strong Pitching, Hitting Lead Softball to Twinbill Sweep of Rutgers
March 29, 2006 | Softball
March 29, 2006
Box Score
PRINCETON, N.J. - The Princeton softball team (12-8) ran its winning streak to three games with a doubleheader sweep of local rival Rutgers (6-21) on Wednesday afternoon at the 2006 home opener at Class of 1895 Field. Erin Snyder (5-3) and Kristen Schaus (6-4) turned in solid efforts in the circle, and the Tigers pounded out 18 hits in 2-0 and 9-2 victories.
GAME ONE
Princeton converted all the offense it needed in the opening frame as a leadoff single to Cristina Cobb-Adams and a walk to Kathryn Welch proved costly for the Scarlet Knights. Snyder and fellow senior Amanda Erickson pounded a pair of one-out RBI singles and the Tigers had a 2-0 lead.
Rutgers did not have its first baserunner until a two-out walk in the third inning, but the Scarlet Knights followed it up with a single to right center by Brittany Loisel with Loisel taking second on the throw and two runners now in scoring position. Snyder ended the threat with her fifth strikeout of the game.
The Scarlet Knights threatened again with two singles to start the sixth inning, but Snyder got a strikeout, a groundout that moved the runners up one, and a long flyout to left that had the Orange and Black holding its collective breath. Princeton exhaled and still had the lead.
Princeton got only two runners in scoring position after the first inning, but with Snyder's strong pitching, the two first-inning runs were enough. The righthander allowed only four hits in her third shutout of the season, fanning 11 and walking only one. Nicole Freeman (1-6) took the loss for the Scarlet Knights, earning both runs on six hits and a pair of walks with two strikeouts.
GAME TWO
Princeton scored in the first inning again, this time with Snyder knocking a two-out single to right with Welch on second thanks to a walk and a wild pitch as the Tigers took a 1-0 lead. That chased Rutgers starter Christina Yard (2-7) from the game after just two-thirds of an inning with one hit, a walk and a run against her. The Rutgers pitching change to Christina Gillman did little to stem the Tiger hitters as, after singles by Larkin Brogan and Brianna Moreno with one out in the second, Cobb-Adams cleared the bases with a triple to right that put Princeton up 3-0.
The Tigers added another run in the third. After a leadoff double from Snyder, a hit batter and a pair of walks later in the inning, all with two outs, pushed Snyder around to score and Princeton was ahead 4-0. Rutgers, however, halved the lead with a Sarah Kalka one-out shot over the left-field fence in the fourth inning, bringing the Scarlet Knights to within 4-2.
The Tigers got five runs in the fifth. The first converted Lauren Bierman's leadoff double with a one-out RBI single from Brogan. Cobb-Adams added another, cashing in Brogan by stroking a two-out double into right, and Stephanie Steel followed that by trading places with Cobb-Adams for a 7-2 lead. That excused Gillman from the game, charged with eight hits and five runs, all earned, with three walks and three strikeouts in four innings. Freeman, the first game's pitcher, re-entered, but the Tigers kept on hitting. Welch added a two-run shot, her team-high third on the season, giving Princeton a 9-2 lead before Freeman ended the inning on a flyout two batters later to prevent a run-rule early ending. Freeman finished with a run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout in an inning and a third.
Schaus scattered seven hits, allowing two runs, both earned, with two walks and eight strikeouts. Offensively, Snyder was 3 for 4 in the nightcap and Brogan and Cobb-Adams each had two hits.
The Tigers travel to Fairfield for a pair at 2 p.m. Thursday before opening the Ivy season at Penn with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday.