Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Penn (Game 1)
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Softball Tigers Take Split Against Penn Saturday
April 24, 2010 | Softball
PRINCETON -- After losing an early lead in a 5-1 defeat to Penn in Saturday's first game, the Princeton softball team never trailed in the nightcap, holding on for a 4-3 victory.
Princeton moved to 11-29 overall and 5-11 in the Ivy League, while the Quakers are now 13-27 overall and 10-6 in the Ivy.
Cornell swept Columbia in the other Ivy South games Saturday, moving the Big Red to 12-2 in Ivy play, three games ahead of the Quakers. Cornell will be Princeton's opponent for a four-game home-and-home series next weekend to close the season.
Game 1: Penn 5, Princeton 1
The Tigers manufactured a run in the first inning against Penn starter Chelsea Ott, but the Quaker pitcher held Princeton silent the rest of the way as the visitors won 5-1 in Saturday's first game.
Brooke Coloma staked the Quakers to a 2-1 lead with a two-run home run in the third inning, and Penn padded its advantage with three more runs across the fifth and sixth innings against Jamie Lettire. Ott allowed Princeton just five baserunners after the first inning and only one in scoring position.
Game 2: Princeton 4, Penn 3
Princeton again led early, but this time the Tigers never trailed as pitcher Liza Kuhn and the defense behind her held on for a 4-3 victory in Saturday's second game.
Kelsey VandeBergh's RBI-double and a two-out error by Penn's defense let Princeton take a 2-1 lead as the Tigers quickly rebounded from a shaky first inning for Kuhn in which the first seven Quaker batters reached and all three outs were made on the basepaths.
Kuhn didn't have another inning like that the rest of the way. Though Jess Melendez led off the top of the second inning with a home run to tie it at 2-2, Kuhn and the Tigers were able to make their way to the seventh inning without Penn scoring again. Meanwhile, an Ellen Scott sacrifice fly in the fourth and Kelsey Quist's ninth home run of the year in the fifth put Princeton ahead 4-2.
Penn took Princeton to the fence in the seventh, as Susan Miller led off the Quakers' last chance with a home run and the next three batters each had deep flyouts, but the Tigers held on.
Defense was key in Princeton's win, and a home-run-robbing grab by Scott in left field may have been a turning point. Just after Melendez' second-inning home run, Justine Payne, who had hit two home runs Friday against Princeton, looked to put Penn ahead for the first time in the nightcap only to have Scott reach over the fence and steal it.
Three innings later with a 3-2 lead, Princeton's infield turned a nifty double play to kill a potential rally after a lead-off single by Coloma. Penn ended the inning empty-handed.
The Tigers will play Friday at Cornell before hosting the Big Red on the season's final day, Sunday, May 2 at 12:30 p.m.