Softball Team Clinches Home Field for ILCS in Saturday Split

Saturday, April 29

Princeton, N.J.

12:30 PM

Princeton University

22-16, 14-3

Cornell

11-26-1, 4-13

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Cornell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Princeton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	8	0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Cornell	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	8	1
Princeton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0

Claire Klausner threw an eight-inning shutout in Saturday's first game.

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Softball Team Clinches Home Field for ILCS in Saturday Split

April 29, 2017 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

The 2017 Ivy League Championship Series will be coming to the Class of 1895 Field for the Princeton softball team, but beyond that, much is still left to be determined.

The Tigers earned hosting rights with a 1-0, eight-inning win over Cornell in Saturday's first game and Harvard's 7-6 first-game win over Dartmouth. That put Princeton at 14 wins and meant Dartmouth would have 13 wins at most, clinching that the ILCS would be at '95 Field for the first time since 2008.

Cornell went on to deal Princeton a 3-0 shutout in game two.

Here are scenarios heading into Sunday for when and which team Princeton will play in the ILCS:

Yale wins the Ivy North if...
It sweeps Brown AND Sunday's Harvard-Dartmouth doubleheader ends in a split, or Dartmouth wins both games. That would force a one-game playoff with Harvard, in the event of a Harvard-Dartmouth split, or Dartmouth in the event of a Big Green sweep. That would force the ILCS back to May 13-14 with an Ivy playoff next weekend at Harvard (if Yale-Harvard) or at Yale (if Yale-Dartmouth). Yale can only win the division by winning a playoff.

Harvard wins the Ivy North if...
It sweeps Dartmouth Sunday, or it splits with Dartmouth and Yale loses at least one game to Brown Sunday. If Harvard and Dartmouth split and Yale sweeps, Harvard will host Yale in a playoff.

Dartmouth wins the Ivy North if...
It sweeps Harvard Sunday and Yale loses at least one game to Brown Sunday. Dartmouth must sweep Harvard to remain in contention. If Dartmouth and Yale both sweep, Yale will host Dartmouth in a playoff.

That answers the opponent question. The date question comes down to whether there's an Ivy North playoff. If so, the ILCS is May 13-14. If not, May 6-7.

In Saturday's opener, Princeton starter Claire Klausner and Cornell's Lisa Nelson traded zeroes for 7 1/2 innings before Princeton came through. The Tigers had left nine runners on base through the first seven innings and six of those in scoring position. In the eighth, Kaylee Grant drew a one-out walk, Keeley Walsh followed with a single, and Alex Viscusi delivered a two-out single up the middle to score Joey Smith, running for Grant, and end the game in walk-off fashion.

After allowing a pair of first-inning singles, Klausner retired 12 in a row and 17 of 18 until a leadoff single for Bridgette Rooney in the seventh. Princeton stranded Rooney at third thanks in part to a diving catch in left field from Megan Donahey for the second out before a grounder to second ended the inning.

Cornell struck early in game two, and despite Princeton getting at least one runner on base in five of its seven at-bats, Big Red pitcher Maddie Orcutt delivered the shutout. Against Erica Nori, who threw the first five innings, Cornell got a first-inning solo home run from Madeline Avery for a 1-0 lead and started the second with a walk and two singles, adding a wild pitch to push the lead to 3-0.

Nori buckled down to set down 12 of the final 14 batters she faced through the fifth inning, and after giving up two singles to start the sixth, Riley Wilkinson retired the last six Cornell batters she faced in relief.

Princeton, though, couldn't get the key hit, leaving the bases loaded in the first and a runner at second in the third and the fifth.

The Tigers and Big Red will continue their four-game series with a doubleheader Sunday with a 12:30 p.m. scheduled start.