Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
5-3
Appalachian State
10-2
Softball Drops Pair in North Carolina
February 21, 2026 | Softball
Princeton split a Saturday doubleheader at North Carolina, falling to Appalachian State, 6-3, before dropping a 5-2 decision to the host Tar Heels.
In the opener against App State, Princeton (5-4) struck first on Sonia Zhang's solo home run in the second inning, but the Mountaineers responded with a three-run third and added two more in the fifth to take control.
The Tigers got back-to-back solo home runs from Julia Dumais and Braeden Hale in the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-3, but the Mountaineers held on from there. Hale led Princeton in the day's opener with two hits.
In the second game, Princeton grabbed an early lead against North Carolina as Dumais doubled and later scored on a Hale RBI groundout in the first inning.
The Tar Heels answered immediately with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first and added two more in the second on a homer to build a 4-1 advantage.
North Carolina extended its lead to 5-1 in the fourth before Princeton trimmed the margin in the sixth. Dumais doubled for the second time in the game and later came home on an RBI groundout by Sonia Zhang to make it 5-2.
Dumais led the Tigers in the nightcap with three hits, including a pair of doubles, while Mia Valenzuela added two hits.
Princeton closes out the weekend Sunday morning with a 10 a.m. matchup against Rider.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fisher, Camryn (6-0)
L: Hollenkamp, Keala (3-1)
S: Moshos, Sophie (3)
Batting:
HR: Hale, Braeden 1 ; Zhang, Sonia 1 ; Dumais, Julia 1
RBI: Hale, Braeden 1 ; Zhang, Sonia 1 ; Dumais, Julia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hale, Braeden 1 ; Zhang, Sonia 1 ; Dumais, Julia 1
SB: Hornberger, Abby 1
Batting:
HR: Girk, Julia 1 ; Schafer, Taylor 2
RBI: Girk, Julia 1 ; Schafer, Taylor 4
Base Running:
RUNS: McClain, Makayla 2 ; Girk, Julia 1 ; Schafer, Taylor 2 ; Bradshaw, KB 1
SB: McClain, Makayla 1 ; Barrett, Grace 1
HBP: Girk, Julia 1
