Princeton University Athletics
Softball Splits at Harvard, Keeps Two-Game Ivy Lead
April 22, 2006 | Softball
April 22, 2006
Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Princeton softball team (24-15, 10-2 Ivy) split a doubleheader at Harvard (16-19, 5-5) Saturday but had its two-game lead kept intact as Cornell also split at Brown. The outcomes keep Princeton two games ahead of Cornell and the Tigers can clinch an Ivy title with two wins Sunday at Dartmouth.
GAME ONE
Princeton didn't get its first hit until the fifth inning and was unable to take advantage of four hits and four walks given up by Harvard starter Shelly Madick (7-5), who struck out 11. Princeton had six runners in scoring position, stranding them all, including two at third.
The Tigers' first solid chance to score was in the sixth when hits by Erin Snyder and Beth Dalmut gave Princeton runners on second and third and one out, but a pair of strikeouts kept the game scoreless. A half-inning later, the missed opportunity would hurt even more. Back-to-back one-out doubles by Lauren Brown and Julia Kidder gave Harvard a 1-0 lead. The hits ended a string of eight straight batters and 14 of 15 retired and were the only two Crimson runners to reach second base.
Jackie Araneo, who had two of Princeton's four hits, led off the seventh with a double and was sacrificed over to third, but a pop up and a flyout ended the game. The loss ended an eight-game win streak for Snyder (12-4), though her number of consecutive innings without a walk grew to 43. She struckout a double-digit number of batters for the fifth straight game, fanning 12. GAME TWO
Princeton wouldn't go scoreless in the nightcap. Dalmut doubled home Araneo with one out in the second as the first three batters reached and the Tigers took a 1-0 lead. Araneo scored again in the fourth when Calli Jo Varner singled her home, and Princeton was up 2-0.
Harvard starter Bailey Vertovez (4-3) lasted three innings, earning a run on four hits with no walks and a strikeout. Amanda Watkins finished the game for Harvard, allowing two hits and a run in four innings, striking out three without a walk.
The Crimson loaded the bases in the fourth with two out after a double and two walks, but Kristen Schaus (11-8) struck out pinch-hitter Sarah Shaughnessy looking to end the threat. However, Harvard halved the lead in the bottom of the fifth with one out when Lauren Brown took the first pitch she saw over the fence in left.
Schaus finished with just two hits and two walks, earning Harvard's run while striking out 10. It was the sixth time in her last seven games that Schaus has fanned 10 or more batters.
Even though Cornell has two games in hand on Princeton, the Tigers would clinch their 16th Ivy title and seventh NCAA Championship bid with two wins at Dartmouth Sunday. The doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.