With a runner on second, no outs in the bottom of the eighth, and Princeton softball leading by one, a short sacrifice bunt made sophomore shortstop Kim Veenstra think the Tigers could nail the advancing runner at third — hoping to destroy the game-threatening rally right at its heart.
The resulting throw, however, traveled a bit too high — allowing the runner to slide right under the tag — capping an error-filled weekend. Once again, the result was a doubleheader split against both UMass (10-17 overall) and St. Peter's (15-11) in a weekend in which Princeton (11-17) could easily have come away with four victories.
"We can't even explain why we're having such problems on defense. We've been so inconsistent [on both offensive and defensive sides], " Veenstra said. "I think in one of the games we had more errors than hits, which is just really sad."
Error prone
While the Tigers did not actually have such a game, two games this weekend saw the number of Tiger hits equalling the errors. In total, the Tigers amassed only 20 hits in four games and a staggering 11 errors in those games, highlighted by a 5-2 loss Saturday to UMass in which Princeton had five hits and five errors.
"There is no excuse for those mistakes," sophomore pitcher Brie Galicinao said. "Hopefully, we're just getting out all our bad defensive days now so that it will be better in the Ivy season."
"If we don't, it's going to be a long season for all of us."
Despite defensive inconsistencies on Saturday that amounted to eight errors in the UMass doubleheader, Princeton was able to salvage the second game by relying on the only consistent saving grace for the squad this season — its ability to battle back in the late innings.
The Tigers, trailing 3-0 going into the seventh, rallied for five runs, capped off by a base-clearing double by Veenstra which gave Princeton a commanding 5-3 lead. The Tigers would not look back, ultimately winning, 5-4. Over the first six innings, however, the Tigers' bats had been quiet, scattering just four single hits.
"It's great that we know we can rally at the end and win," Galicinao said, "but it would be a lot easier on us, and especially on the pitchers, if we just scored early."
The combination of offensive and defensive woes throughout the weekend was tough on the Tiger pitching staff, which needed to throw near-perfect games in order to earn the win. Out of the eleven runs the Princeton pitching staff allowed this weekend, only four of them were earned. Luckily, senior No.1 Sarah Peterman (6-10) had one of those stellar outings in the first game against St. Peter's, leading the Tigers to a 1-0 victory. Peterman earned the complete game shutout and tallied eight strikeouts in the process.
Return
Another bright spot for the Princeton staff was the reemergence of sophomore Dana Freiser (1-0), who pitched her first game of the season after being out with mononucleosis. In the 5-4 comeback win against UMass, she provided two crucial innings of relief in the sixth and seventh that solidified her first victory of the season. Freiser also threw two shutout innings of relief in the 5-2 loss against UMass, making her weekend an encouraging and productive one.
"[Freiser] performed really well under the game pressure," said Peterman, who saw a surprising amount of confidence and comfort in Freiser's first outing. "She gave up one run [in the comeback win against UMass] but stayed strong and was able to get the outs we needed in the seventh."
But on a weekend in which fundamentals such as aggressiveness at the plate and concentration in the field seemed foreign to the Tiger squad, its performance can be seen as a missed opportunity to gain more wins and some much needed confidence.
"We've been emphasizing and doing the right sorts of things in practice, but we just haven't done it at game time," Galicinao said.
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