PRINCETON ? The Princeton softball team may still be undefeated in Ivy League play, but the Tigers have not gone unchallenged.
Saturday's doubleheader with Penn was another example of that, with Princeton holding on for a 4-2 and 6-4 sweep of the Quakers. The Tigers are 14-0 in the Ivy League but maintain only a one-game lead over Cornell, which swept Columbia Saturday.
"Penn is a very good hitting team and we expected that," Princeton coach Trina Salcido said. "We did a lot of things right. We left some people on base, but we had the big inning (in game two). We weren't trying to hit the ball out all the time today; we were trying to get base hits. Getting everyone involved is how you win games."
Princeton, at 19-19 overall, is even on the season for the first time since March 1.
Around the Ivy League, while Princeton and Cornell continued on their respective paths to a showdown next weekend ? both must hold serve in doubleheaders Sunday ? Harvard all but clinched the Ivy North. The Crimson, who swept Brown, lead Dartmouth by six games with six to play. The Big Green didn't help its cause Saturday by dropping both games of a doubleheader to Yale, putting itself on the brink of elimination.
The 14 Ivy League wins are a Princeton record, surpassing the Tigers' 13-1 record in 2002. It also ties an Ivy League record established by Penn and Harvard last year, the first season under an expanded 20-game schedule.
Kristin Arguedas' home run in game one was Princeton's 39th of the season, also setting a program record. That total passed the 38 the team hit in 2005. Arguedas also hit the record-tying home run Thursday at Villanova.
Game 1: Princeton 4, Penn 2
Princeton got just enough in the circle and at the plate to squeak out a 4-2 win in game one to maintain its one-game lead in the Ivy and its league-undefeated record.
Penn pulled ahead with a two-out, two-run double in the first, cashing in on an inning-extending booted ball at second base earlier in the frame. That lead lasted only until Arguedas' two-run shot tied it in the bottom of the second.
Kristen Schaus gave up four hits in 3 1/3 innings and was lifted in favor of Michelle Tolfa (7-3) after giving up a one-out walk with the game still tied. Tolfa hit the first batter she faced but retired the next two to end the threat.
After Tolfa squeezed out of a fifth-inning jam, Princeton broke the tie in its half of the inning with Kelsey Quist's two-run double that brought home singles by Erin Miller and Brianna Moreno.
Tolfa retired the side in the sixth and gave up two two-out singles and a walk in the seventh before emerging unscathed once again.
Game 2: Princeton 6, Penn 4
A five-run fifth inning for the Tigers seemed to be plenty to claim the nightcap Saturday, but following the day's theme, Princeton had to hold off one last Penn comeback to sweep the day with a 6-4 win.
Jamie Lettire (5-3) turned in a complete-game effort and allowed only two hits through the first four innings.
And despite getting three walks and five hits over the same four-inning span, the Tigers didn't give Lettire much breathing room by only pushing one run across. That came on a Lettire RBI-single in the fourth.
The 1-0 lead lasted only until Penn's next at bat. A walk, a wild pitch and an RBI-single tied the game.
The tie went as quickly as Princeton's one-run lead. In a fifth inning that saw Princeton send 10 batters to the plate, the Tigers picked up five hits and two walks to score five runs and take a 6-1 lead. Lettire brought home two runs with a single while Miller and Collette Abbott also had RBI hits.
Penn threatened in both of its last two at-bats. A dropped fly ball and two singles led to one run, cutting Princeton's lead to 6-2, and three hits in the seventh inning brought home two more runs before Tolfa got back-to-back infield outs to end the final threat.
Princeton and Penn (20-18, 5-9 Ivy) will reconvene at 12:30 p.m. Sunday to close out the series.
