On March 28, Princeton softball (12–12 overall, 6–0 Ivy League) faced down the Yale Bulldogs (17–16, 5–4), defeating them in all three games to bring the team to a 6–0 start in the Ivy League, their best since they started 14–0 in 2008, and completing the second-ever series at the Cynthia Lynn Paul ’94 Field.
Tigers shut out Bulldogs on day one
Junior pitcher Brielle Wright dominated early in the series opener, striking out two of Yale’s starters while the third grounded out, swiftly retiring the side. After being walked to first and advancing to second on a walk for sophomore outfielder Karis Ford as well, junior infielder Julia Dumais stole home as the Bulldogs chased senior outfielder Allison Ha between first and second. The Tigers ended the first inning up 1–0, a lead they would maintain for the next three innings before quintupling it in the fourth inning.
Princeton’s defense remained strong in the first half of the fourth inning, with senior outfielder Lauren Sablone in center field catching two fly balls from the Bulldogs. Once the Tigers were batting in the bottom half, they immediately went on the offensive to broaden their lead, keeping the pressure on the Bulldogs by rarely letting the bases remain empty.
After sophomore infielder Sonia Zhang scored, first-year infielder Jessica Phelps pinch hit for senior utility player Lauren Pappert, driving the ball to right field to bring sophomore infielder Allie Goodwin across home as well. Pappert scored as Yale walked Ford. Then, a single from Ha to right center and a sprint to the plate from third by Sablone allowed both Sablone and Ford to score before the inning came to a close, with Princeton 5–0 after four hits.
“We definitely felt great as a team coming into this weekend, definitely knew that we had something to prove,” Sablone told The Daily Princetonian. “So I guess just coming into today, we [knew] that we [had] business to take care of.”
The Tigers’ lead remained steady across the next three innings. But despite their best attempts to secure the three additional runs necessary to bring the game to an early end with the mercy rule, they neither gained nor yielded any more ground against the Bulldogs. The game ended in a 5–0 Princeton victory.
“I think the team set a good tone for the weekend,” women’s softball Head Coach Lisa van Ackeren told the ‘Prince’ after the game. “I thought we prepared really well [this week] for Yale … we knew they were coming in 5–1 with their best [and] we met them with our best.”
“We’ve been playing really well together as a team, and I’m proud of us for getting the win,” Sablone said, echoing van Ackeren’s sentiment. “They haven’t seen the best of our offense yet, so that’s exciting, really exciting, that tomorrow we can hopefully show them that.”
Tigers sweep Saturday series
The Tigers defeated the Bulldogs in back-to-back games on Saturday, winning 9–0 and 2–0 to round out a successful weekend. The day began with the two teams remaining deadlocked at 0–0 for the first two innings. But in the bottom half of the third inning, Princeton once again had a blitz of successful runs, with 14 players coming up to bat and rapidly bringing the score to 8–0.
After being walked to first base, first-year catcher Braeden Hale scored on a triple from Sablone. A single from Ha wound up bringing Ford and Dumais home, making it the second time that weekend that Ha hit a multi-run single.
Another single from sophomore infielder Graciela Dominguez would not only allow junior utility player Courtney Harrison to cross home, but also load the bases with the score already 4–0, creating the perfect conditions for Princeton to rack up four more runs after a series of walks. Ha scored off Hale’s second walk of the inning, and then Phelps, Dumais, and Ford were all subsequently walked as well, which would lead to Hale, Phelps, Zhang, and Dumais all scoring before the inning’s end, wrapping up the third inning at 8–0 for Princeton.
Zhang then scored again in the bottom half of the fourth inning on a pinch-hit single by senior first baseman Sophia Marsalo, who was hitting for Goodwin, bringing the score to 9–0. Up by over seven points in less than five innings, with Yale up to bat, sophomore pitcher Cassidy Shaw only had to prevent the Bulldogs from scoring for another half inning to bring the game to an end — Shaw delivered with nine strikeouts and one walk.
This tied Shaw’s previous career high from her first year, when she made nine strikeouts in a game against Penn almost exactly one year prior, on March 30, 2024. After a dominant showing by Princeton, the game ended at 9–0 in just five innings.
Saturday’s second game progressed much more slowly, with Wright facing off against Emma Taylor, who was pitching for Yale. Both teams remained at 0–0 for five grueling innings, with the Bulldogs only getting two singles and one walk past Wright, who pitched a no-hitter in the fifth inning. Meanwhile, with Taylor on the mound for Yale, the Tigers fought to move past the Bulldogs’ defense. Despite only striking out twice, attempts by Ha, Pappert, Zhang, Dumais, and Dominguez to score were ultimately of no avail.
At last, in the bottom half of the sixth inning, Pappert came up to bat with first-year pinch hitter Juliet Roa and Goodwin poised to score and hit Princeton’s third multi-run single of the weekend, making the score 2–0 with just one inning to go. Wright and Princeton’s defense remained strong, holding off Yale and securing a victory for the Tigers with another no-hit inning. The game ended with 10 strikeouts, which nearly doubled her previous career high of six strikeouts.
To conclude an already successful series, Wright was named Ivy League Player of the Week, succeeding Ford, the previous Player of the Week, and making it the second week in a row that a Tiger held the title.
“With a defense and an offense like we have, I can pitch very freely,” Wright told the ‘Prince.’ “I’m not afraid to put the ball in play, because my defense has got my back, and I know if they string a couple [of] hits, my offense has got my back. So ultimately, I love being able to pitch with this team behind my back.”
Leela Hensler is a staff news writer and a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
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