Princeton University Athletics
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Softball Sees First Game at NCAA Amherst Regional Suspended
May 16, 2008 | Softball
AMHERST, Mass. -- The Princeton softball team's NCAA Regional-opening game with Massachusetts was suspended in the first inning due to rain. The teams will resume at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the point of suspension.
When the game was called, UMass' second batter of the inning had a 3-2 count with the leadoff batter on first after being hit in the back. Princeton starter Kristen Schaus had some trouble controlling the wet ball, as did her counterpart, UMass' Brandice Balschmiter.
Just after the coaches exchanged lineup cards ahead of the 3:30 p.m. start, the umpire-in-chief and the NCAA representatives called a 30-minute rain delay. After the removal of the tarp and a brief warm-up session, the game began at 4:27 p.m. with plenty of rain still coming down.
Brianna Moreno led off with a slapped grounder to third base and reached when that ball took a bad hop. Megan Weidrick followed with a sacrifice, and Kathryn Welch's groundout moved Moreno to third with two out. Kelsey Quist took a pitch off the foot and was awarded first base, but UMass got out of the jam when Balschmiter was able to strike out Jamie Lettire for the final out.
One of the teams in the Amherst Regional could play three games Saturday, the maximum allowed in one day by NCAA rule during the tournament. The Princeton/UMass winner will face Stanford at noon, while the loser will take on Lehigh at 2:30. The winner of the 2:30 game will meet the noon game's loser at 5 p.m. to stay alive and play Sunday.