TITLE RUN: Princeton University softball player Lauren Sablone sprints to first base last weekend in the best-of-three Ivy League Playoff Series. Freshman Sablone’s hitting helped Princeton top Harvard in the series as it overcame a 5-2 loss in the opening game to win 8-4 and 6-1. Sablone went 5-for-11 in the series with five runs, five RBIs, two doubles, a triple, and a homer. The Tigers, now 27-15-2, will be playing in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional this weekend where it will be facing host and fourth-seeded University of Arkansas (44-9) on May 20 to open play in the double-elimination competition. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

After the Princeton University softball team fell 5-2 to Harvard in the opener of the best-of-three Ivy League Playoff Series last Friday, the Tigers found themselves trailing 3-1 after three innings in game two and facing elimination.

But Princeton freshman star outfielder Lauren Sablone wasn’t overly concerned by the deficit.

“We weren’t put on our heels too much at that point, we knew that a couple of runs wasn’t going to win that game,” said Sablone. “We knew we were all hitting the ball really hard, we just weren’t finding spots.”

Sablone ended up hitting the ball hard to the right spots, smacking a two-run double in the top of the fifth to put Princeton ahead 4-3 and then lining a two-run homer over the left field fence to give the Tigers a 6-4 lead as they went on to prevail 8-4.

“I have been seeing the ball pretty decently lately and knowing what I had to do in a clutch situation to help my team out, that was the most important part,” said Sablone, reflecting on her double.

As for the homer, Sablone was surprised to see it clear the fence.

“That felt great; I didn’t think it was going out, I was stoked,” said Sablone. “I thought, ‘line drive to the wall, nice, OK, Cate [Bade] in front of me will probably score and we will get a run out of it.’ All of a sudden it goes out of there and I was like ‘oh.’ That was just a bonus.”

Building on that win, Princeton ended up topping Harvard 6-1 in the decisive third game which started Saturday but was halted by rain and concluded the next morning.

The Tigers, now 27-15-2, will be playing in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional this weekend where they will be facing host and fourth-seeded University of Arkansas (44-9) on May 20 to open play in the double-elimination competition.

Looking ahead to game three against Harvard, Sablone was confident that the Tigers would come through.

“It is get ready to mash,” said Sablone, who went 5-for-11 in the series with five runs, five RBIs, two doubles, a triple, and a homer. “We know what we have to do to get the job done and we are very capable of doing it.”

With Sablone now hitting .330, smacking a team-high five homers along with 26 RBIs, she has been getting better and better as the season has gone on.

“It is definitely just getting the confidence, trusting in yourself,” said Sablone, a 5’8 native of North Reading, Mass.

“Trusting in my team was the biggest part for me. It felt less individual than travel ball where you are trying to get recruited. There is a lot of that kind of mindset but here it is like, I know if I don’t get the job done, the person after me is going to. I was a little bit out of my skin in the beginning of the year. I feel like I have been seeing the ball really well lately.”

In addition to Sablone’s production, two other freshmen, Allison Ha (.326, 2 homers, 18 RBIs) and Sophia Marsalo (.324, 1 homer, 23 RBIs), have emerged as stars for the Tigers.

“I think it gives our team a lot of confidence, I think it raises the bar too,” said Sablone reflecting on the impact of the newcomers. “When all the young kids come in and set the bar high, it makes everyone work harder. I think that has been really good for our team.”

Princeton head coach Lisa Van Ackeren liked the way her players worked through adversity on Friday, starting with the opening game loss which saw the Tigers rally from a 2-0 deficit only to fall in extra innings in a contest that took nearly four hours.

“I was really proud of the team, they did stay grounded,” said Van Ackeren. “Even in the last inning, they are really tough. They were excited for this weekend so they were playing through some emotion in this game. Harvard did a really good job of putting pressure on us.”

In game two, the Tigers did a better job of handling the pressure.

“We were trying to relax into where we play our best which is having fun and staying loose, even in tough moments,” said Van Ackeren. “When you look around and they are not smiling, it is ooh. When they are smiling and connecting with each other, we are in a good spot. They got back to that.”

Van Ackeren was not surprised to see Sablone provide some clutch hitting in the series.

“Lauren had had a really great couple weeks of practice, seeing the ball well, trusting herself and her swing,” said Van Ackeren. “This is always what she is capable of. If you watched her at practice, if she doesn’t put a ball out, it is shocking. It was cool to see her have that moment.”

The squad’s pitchers showed coolness under fire in the second game against Harvard as starter Ali Blanchard went 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts and three walks while yielding four runs and Molly Chambers closed the deal with 1.1 hitless innings of relief.  

“Kudos to Harvard, they did a great job of putting pressure on our pitchers and they made them work,” said Van Ackeren, who got some great work in the circle from Alexis Laudenslager in game three as she went the distance, giving up only three hits with six strikeouts and four walks.

“It challenged us in a way we haven’t been challenged in a few weeks. It was good to see that and to see them just learn and keep growing to stay tough in big moments. Molly was phenomenal there.”

Princeton relished the challenge provided by the Crimson in the playoff series.

“It was good,” said Van Ackeren. “This is Harvard-Princeton. It is super fun, it is a rivalry.”

Sablone and her teammates had a lot of fun battling Harvard.

“I think that this team is really gritty, we know how to fight,” said Sablone. “We have seen this team play really well and we know what we can do.”