Tigers down Lions in pair of nail-biters

With momentum firmly on their side after Sunday’s doubleheader sweep, the Princeton softball team captured two more wins against Columbia on Monday. The Lions (12-24, 2-10) were stifled by Princeton’s impressive offensive, which included four more homers in addition to Sunday’s six. In the end, the Tigers emerged with a pair of one-run victories.

Things looked good for the Light Blue early on when Karen Tulig singled in the top of the first and came home on Dani Pineda’s center-field double. But the Tigers came right back in their half of the inning when freshman Nicole Ontiveros delivered a solo homer.

In the bottom of the second, the Tigers (12-14, 7-5 Ivy) pushed the score to 3-1, but the Lions proved that they would not go down quietly. With two outs at the top of the fourth, Jackie Ecker singled to left field, and Stephanie Yagi followed suit, advancing to second on the throw. Anne Marie Skylis stepped in with two runners in scoring position and came through with a deep single to right, bringing home both base runners and tying the score at three.

The Tigers, however, responded in the bottom of the fourth with two more home runs and a triple to take a 6-3 advantage. Although the Lions appeared to be making a late comeback bid with Yagi’s first homer of the season, they fell short and ultimately succumbed to the Tigers in the opener, 6-5.

Game two was another nail-biter, and the finish was disappointing for the Lions as a Princeton walk-off home run completed the doubleheader sweep.

The game remained scoreless until the top of the third when Pineda walked and Maggie Johnson brought her home with a double to right-center. But Princeton out-hit Columbia in the bottom of the inning, picking up two runs and a 2-1 lead. By the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers were up 4-1, and the Lions found themselves in the hole once more.

But the Light Blue proved resilient again. Johnson kicked off a sixth-inning rally with a home run, and Keli Leong came through with a seventh-inning base hit, energizing Columbia’s comeback. Tulig doubled to left-center, and Pineda reached on an error, bringing home two unearned runs and tying the game at four.

But the Lions’ hope of a final-game victory was short-lived, as Princeton’s Jamie Lettire homered in the seventh, dashing any prospect of extra innings and handing the Tigers a 5-4 walk-off win.

After Monday’s disappointing finish, Columbia returns home on Thursday to face Manhattan, a nonconference opponent.