On Wednesday, the Princeton Tigers (14–14 overall, 7–2 Ivy League) hosted the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (27–7, 6–0 Patriot League) for their third and final matchup of the season, producing a solid 10–4 victory. These two teams’ previous matchups this spring saw the Tigers lose 3–5 and 1–5 on March 12 and 15, respectively. This was only the second time this season that the Tigers have scored ten or more in a game, the first being their 12–0 victory against Yale on March 18.
Both teams entered the game having won their last series. The Tigers beat the Penn Quakers (3–27, 1–8 Ivy League) in a 2–1 series, and the Mountain Hawks swept their three-game series against Bucknell (9–20, 1–5 Patriot League), both series ending on April 2.
The Tigers opened the game with junior Molly Chambers in the circle, and the Mountain Hawks responded with Chloe Hess. It was Lehigh who led off the scoring when a double from center-fielder Brooke Canon scored second-baseman Lily Owens, who reached second on a double of her own. Tigers sophomore center-fielder Lauren Sablone came close to a run-saving diving catch, but the ball narrowly escaped her glove, and Lehigh left their half of the first inning with a 1–0 lead.
The Tigers looked to respond early, as senior left fielder Serena Starks got on base with a lead-off single after fighting off several difficult pitches. This brought up junior shortstop Grace Jackson, who promptly drew a walk, putting two runners on base for senior designated hitter Adrienne Chang. Chang immediately tied the score at one apiece with a hard-hit single to left field but was thrown out attempting to advance to second. From there, a sac fly from first-year third baseman Julia Dumais put the Tigers in front 2–1 at the end of the first.
“I was feeling pretty relaxed at the plate today and just wanted to be able to be productive with my at bats for the team,” Chang told The Daily Princetonian. “Lehigh is always a fun matchup because it was our coach’s alma mater, so my approach today was just to compete and have fun.”
Princeton was not done there, as the Tigers doubled their lead in the second with an RBI groundout from Sablone. In the next inning, the Tigers extended their lead once more when a double from senior right-fielder Lauren Murphy scored two runs.
Lehigh did get one run back in the fourth inning via a throwing error, weakening the Tiger lead to 5–2, but Princeton responded immediately in their half of the inning. An RBI single from first-year infielder Abby Hornberger, an RBI triple from Starks, and a two-run scoring single from Chang saw the Tigers plate four in the fourth inning, giving them a commanding 9–2 lead.
After walking a batter to start the fifth, Chambers was replaced by sophomore Meghan Harrington. This runner would later score on a sac fly after two more walks from Harrington loaded the bases, but the Tigers limited the damage to only one run after a clutch strikeout from Harrington that left two runners stranded. Chambers finished the outing with three strikeouts and held the dangerous Mountain Hawks offense to just two earned runs.
Following a quiet fifth inning for the Tigers, junior second baseman Cate Bade drove in Princeton’s tenth run of the game in the sixth.
“The win today definitely reflected how much we have grown since we played them in Florida a few weeks ago,” said Chang. “We’ve been working hard in practice on our ability to score and manufacture runs, and I think that work really showed up today. Lehigh always gives us competitive games, so I’m proud of how we responded.”
A scoreless sixth from Harrington was followed by the final pitching change of the game for the Tigers, as first-year Brielle Wright came in to close out the game. After allowing the first two batters to reach base, Wright recorded two quick outs before the Mountain Hawks scored one run on a wild pitch. From there, Wright recorded a strikeout to end the inning and secure a solid 10–4 win for the Tigers.
The Tigers will look to make use of the momentum from this win as they welcome the Columbia Lions (10–15, 6–3) to Strubing Field for a three-game series featuring a doubleheader on April 8 and a final game the following day.
“The start of Ivy’s gave us a renewed sense of energy and helped us refocus on our goals for this season,” Dumais told the ‘Prince.’ “Our practices have been integral to sharpen our skills and build up our confidence. In the coming weeks, we are determined to continue on our recent momentum these past couple of weeks and to keep improving as a team.”
A series win will see the Tigers surpass the .500 mark for the first time since Feb. 25, when they were 2–1.
Tony Owens is a contributor to the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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