Princeton University Athletics
Friday, April 27
Princeton, N.J.
2:30 PM
Princeton University
9-25, 7-9
11
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12
Penn
15-20, 10-9
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6
7
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E
Penn
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6
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12
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Princeton
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11
15
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Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Tigers Battle to Final Out in 12-11 Penn Win
April 27, 2018 | Softball
Friday's series-opening game at the Class of 1895 Field saw the Princeton softball team and Penn put up 23 runs on 27 hits and five homers, and when it was all over, the Quakers had just one more in the stat that counts the most.
Penn's 12-11 win Friday opens a three-game series that will wrap with Saturday's 12:30 p.m. doubleheader back at '95 Field. Links for Ivy League Network coverage and live stats are available on Princeton's schedule page. Admission is free, and it will be Youth Day, with Tiger gear and a postgame autograph session and kids running the bases.Â
Penn opened the day with a two-run Sarah Cwiertnia home run picking up a Jess England single, and the longball turned out to be an indication of things to come. Princeton got a walk and two hits to set up a Kylee Pierce sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning to cut the Tiger deficit to 2-1, and Princeton tied it up in the second when a Kaylee Grant single followed a Mikayla Blaska double.
Following a scoreless third inning which became the only empty frame of the game, Penn put six runs on the board in the fourth on the way to an 8-2 lead. The Quakers had four singles, a walk and a two-run Jurie Joyner homer in the inning and were helped by a dropped foul pop-up that would have been the third out, after which four runs scored. Cwiertnia had another big hit with a two-run single in the inning.
But, the Tigers answered right back in the bottom of the fourth when two singles put a pair on for Grant, who hammered a three-run home run to pull Princeton within 8-5. Penn promptly got two of the runs back in the top of the fifth, when two walks started the inning and a Tabitha Dyer double and an England single pushed the Quaker lead to 10-5. Three walks and a single in the top of the sixth made it 11-5 for Penn, though Princeton cut into the lead in its half of the sixth.Â
A throwing error to start the Tiger half of the sixth proved costly for Penn, as Princeton went on to use a single and a walk to put two on for Mackenzie Meyer, who blasted her team-best sixth home run of the inning to pull Princeton within 11-9.Â
Penn's third homer of the game proved to be especially valuable, as Joyner's second of the game was a solo shot to put the Quakers up 12-9 in the top of the seventh. Princeton had one last rally in its final at-bat, starting the inning with three singles and a walk, including a two-run Allison Harvey single to pull Princeton within 12-11, all with none out. But, with Princeton runners on first and second, Penn got a pop-up, a hard-hit fly ball to left, and a ground ball to keep Princeton there and hold on for the win.
Each team used three pitchers to get through the seven innings, with Abby Abramson getting the win in relief for Penn after starter Mason Spichiger came up two outs short of the required four innings. Jennifer Brann faced the final five batters of the game to get the save. Allie Reynolds took the loss for the Tigers after throwing 3 2/3 innings and Princeton never closing the gap despite the rallies. Caroline Taber and Alex Viscusi worked the rest of the way.
Princeton out-hit Penn 15-12 with five Tigers getting multi-hit games, led by three-hit efforts from Megan Donahey, Danielle Dockx and Blaska. Grant led the way for Princeton with four runs driven in.
Penn's 12-11 win Friday opens a three-game series that will wrap with Saturday's 12:30 p.m. doubleheader back at '95 Field. Links for Ivy League Network coverage and live stats are available on Princeton's schedule page. Admission is free, and it will be Youth Day, with Tiger gear and a postgame autograph session and kids running the bases.Â
Penn opened the day with a two-run Sarah Cwiertnia home run picking up a Jess England single, and the longball turned out to be an indication of things to come. Princeton got a walk and two hits to set up a Kylee Pierce sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning to cut the Tiger deficit to 2-1, and Princeton tied it up in the second when a Kaylee Grant single followed a Mikayla Blaska double.
Following a scoreless third inning which became the only empty frame of the game, Penn put six runs on the board in the fourth on the way to an 8-2 lead. The Quakers had four singles, a walk and a two-run Jurie Joyner homer in the inning and were helped by a dropped foul pop-up that would have been the third out, after which four runs scored. Cwiertnia had another big hit with a two-run single in the inning.
But, the Tigers answered right back in the bottom of the fourth when two singles put a pair on for Grant, who hammered a three-run home run to pull Princeton within 8-5. Penn promptly got two of the runs back in the top of the fifth, when two walks started the inning and a Tabitha Dyer double and an England single pushed the Quaker lead to 10-5. Three walks and a single in the top of the sixth made it 11-5 for Penn, though Princeton cut into the lead in its half of the sixth.Â
A throwing error to start the Tiger half of the sixth proved costly for Penn, as Princeton went on to use a single and a walk to put two on for Mackenzie Meyer, who blasted her team-best sixth home run of the inning to pull Princeton within 11-9.Â
Penn's third homer of the game proved to be especially valuable, as Joyner's second of the game was a solo shot to put the Quakers up 12-9 in the top of the seventh. Princeton had one last rally in its final at-bat, starting the inning with three singles and a walk, including a two-run Allison Harvey single to pull Princeton within 12-11, all with none out. But, with Princeton runners on first and second, Penn got a pop-up, a hard-hit fly ball to left, and a ground ball to keep Princeton there and hold on for the win.
Each team used three pitchers to get through the seven innings, with Abby Abramson getting the win in relief for Penn after starter Mason Spichiger came up two outs short of the required four innings. Jennifer Brann faced the final five batters of the game to get the save. Allie Reynolds took the loss for the Tigers after throwing 3 2/3 innings and Princeton never closing the gap despite the rallies. Caroline Taber and Alex Viscusi worked the rest of the way.
Princeton out-hit Penn 15-12 with five Tigers getting multi-hit games, led by three-hit efforts from Megan Donahey, Danielle Dockx and Blaska. Grant led the way for Princeton with four runs driven in.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Abramson, Abigail (6-6)
L: Reynolds, Allie (6-13)
S: Brann, Jennifer (2)
Batting:
2B: Dyer, Tabitha 1
HR: Cwiertnia, Sarah 1 ; Joyner, Jurie 2
RBI: Pederson, Sam 1 ; England, Jessica 1 ; Cwiertnia, Sarah 4 ; Joyner, Jurie 3 ; Dyer, Tabitha 2
SH: Oretsky, Molly 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pederson, Sam 1 ; England, Jessica 1 ; Cwiertnia, Sarah 2 ; Joyner, Jurie 2 ; Houck, Raven 1 ; Yang, Lucy 2 ; Oretsky, Molly 1 ; Dyer, Tabitha 1 ; Petroski, Katie 1
SB: Yang, Lucy 1 ; Dyer, Tabitha 1 ; Petroski, Katie 1
Batting:
2B: Dockx, Danielle 1 ; Blaska, Mikayla 1
HR: Meyer, Mackenzie 1 ; Grant, Kaylee 1
RBI: Harvey, Allison 2 ; Meyer, Mackenzie 3 ; Pierce, Kylee 1 ; Grant, Kaylee 4
SF: Pierce, Kylee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Donahey, Megan 1 ; Harvey, Allison 2 ; Meyer, Mackenzie 1 ; Dockx, Danielle 1 ; Blaska, Mikayla 4 ; Grant, Kaylee 1 ; Smith, Joey 1
SB: Waslawski, Kaitlyn 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
4
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
MI/OF
/ SoftballSS/2B
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
1B/3B/C
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
3B/1B
/ SoftballPrinceton Athletics Career Networking Breakfast (Fall 2025)
Wednesday, September 24
Reflections from the Princeton Athletics Class of 2025
Tuesday, May 27
Softball Highlights vs. Columbia & Brown, Ivy League Tournament, 5-10-25
Saturday, May 10
Softball Highlights vs. Harvard, Ivy League Tournament, 5-9-25
Friday, May 09