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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Lipscomb
Players Mentioned
Softball Tigers Let Lead Slip Late, Fall to Lipscomb 4-3
March 23, 2007 | Softball
DeLAND, Fla. -- Letting a three-run lead slip late, the Princeton softball team suffered an especially difficult loss to Lipscomb, 4-3, Friday afternoon at the Stetson Invitational.
The loss extends Princeton's skid to four games, dropping the Tigers to 9-13 overall. Lipscomb improved to 13-14.
Princeton got all three runs in the first inning. Stephanie Steel started the game with a single to right-center, and after being moved to second by Brianna Moreno, Kathryn Welch hit a ball that bounced off Lipscomb pitcher Christen Campbell and languished in the infield long enough for Steel to score from second.
Jamie Lettire, Princeton's starting pitcher, tripled Princeton's lead with a two-out home run over the leftfield fence that scored Welch to put the Tigers ahead 3-0. It was the rookie's third blast of the year.
But after the rocky start, Campbell (8-6) settled in and allowed Princeton only four baserunners the rest of the game, none moving past second base. The Lipscomb righthander finished with five hits -- none over the last four innings -- with one walk and six strikeouts, earning all three runs.
The fateful inning for Princeton was the sixth. Lettire (2-2) had stranded all five runners through the first five innings, but gave up a single to Heather Collins to start the frame. Two batters later, Abby Keese belted a one-out home run, her fifth of the year, to bring Lipscomb within 3-2.
After a flyout, Lettire gave up a walk and Lipscomb's Christy Grisham hit a bouncer to Kathryn Welch at shortstop that the Tiger infielder couldn't control, allowing the inning to continue. Then, pinch hitter Niki Bails had a soft chopper stop in the dirt in front of home plate and stay fair, loading the bases.
Still one out from getting out of the inning, Lettire gave up a single to Lauren Dortwegt that bounced off the pitcher's reaching glove and scored the tying and go-ahead runs. Dortwegt is Lipscomb's leading hitter on the year and was 3 for 4 in the game. The inning ended on a strikeout of the next batter, but Princeton went down in order in the seventh and the Bison held on.
Princeton will get another shot at the Bison Saturday at 11:30 a.m. before playing host Stetson at 4:30 p.m. in the next-to-last game on the spring break trip.