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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Florida International
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Princeton Softball Splits Final Day at South Florida Invitational
March 18, 2007 | Softball
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Princeton softball team split its last pair of games at the University of South Florida's Speedline Tournament Sunday, knocking off Long Island 7-5, but falling to Florida International, 5-1.
Princeton (7-7) finished 2-3 at the USF tournament to start its spring break trip. After falling to Boston University and Indiana, the Tigers beat Buffalo to finish third in the 16-team tournament's Pool B.
From there, Princeton went into a four-team bracket Sunday with the third-place finishers from the other pools. The LIU win advanced Princeton to the final of the single-elimination bracket.
Princeton 7, Long Island 5
The Tigers and Blackbirds combined for four home runs, but the Tigers scored in the first inning and never trailed as the team moved into the final game of the mini-bracket between the four No. 3 seeds.
Kathryn Welch had three of Princeton's nine hits in a 3 for 3 day as she, Calli Jo Varner and Samantha O'Hara each drove in two runs.
Welch provided the third single in the first inning that drove home leadoff hitter Stephanie Steel and put Princeton ahead 1-0. But LIU got back-to-back singles and Vanessa Mejia tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the frame.
Welch led off the fourth with a single and came around to score three batters later on a single by Jamie Lettire as the Tigers took a 2-1 lead, and Welch picked up her second RBI when she scored Steel once again in the fifth as Princeton went ahead 3-1.
O'Hara cashed in a leadoff walk to Calli Jo Varner in the fifth with a one-out blast to centerfield, putting Princeton ahead 5-1. It was her second home run of the season and both have come during the USF tournament.
But the Blackbirds stuck around. In the bottom of the fifth, Mariesha Marker singled with two out and Raylene Asman homered to narrow the gap back to two runs at 5-3.
The game's third home run came from Varner in the top of the seventh, when she blasted one to leftfield that scored Welch to put Princeton ahead 7-3, three outs from a win.
The insurance provided by Varner's home run proved valuable. LIU's Amanda Devan led off the last of the seventh with a walk and Brynn Lewis followed her with a home run, bringing LIU back within 7-5. But Princeton starter Kristen Schaus (3-4) retired three of the next four hitters to preserve the win. She scattered seven hits and a walk, earning all five runs while striking out eight.
Long Island used a pair of pitchers as Jenny Giles (5-6) took the loss, allowing five hits while earning one of Princeton's two runs. She fanned two Tigers in four innings of work. Blaire Porter threw the last three innings, allowing five runs, all earned, on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
Florida International 5, Princeton 1
Princeton starter Kristen Schaus, who also started the day's opener against Long Island, retired 14 of 15 batters in a stretch from the first through fifth innings, but a lack of timely hitting hurt Princeton in the loss.
FIU (13-19) loaded the bases in the top of the first with two singles and a walk to start the game, but got only one run out of it on a sacrifice fly.
Despite getting seven runners on base through the first four innings, including three in scoring position, the Tigers were unable to tie the game.
That changed in the fifth, when Princeton benefitted from three walks and anempty-handed fielder's choice. Jamie Lettire drew a bases-loaded walk that scored Kathryn Welch to tie the game, but a groundout ended any further chance of scoring.
But the game was untied quickly. FIU leadoff hitter Deomni Murray doubled, and after a walk, Tabitha Embry hit a long home run to straightaway centerfield, putting FIU ahead 4-1. Following a single by Kim Rodriguez, FIU's Ashley Falk put the Golden Panthers ahead 5-1 with a run-scoring double.
Schaus (3-5) left after FIU's big inning, giving up six hits and three walks, earning all five runs while striking out six in six innings. Calli Jo Varner finished the last inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.
FIU's Penny Eastman (7-8) survived eight walks and three hits, striking out five and giving up just the one run.
The Tigers will have Monday off before heading to DeLand, Fla., for a doubleheader with Stetson University. It is the start of three days of doubleheaders with games against South Florida and the University of Florida to follow before Princeton's break-ending tournament at Stetson next weekend.