Courtesy: Princeton Athletic CommunicationsThe Tigers couldn't get their bats going Wednesday in western Virginia and James Madison did just enough to defeat the Princeton softball team twice, sweeping a twinbill 1-0 and 2-0.
Princeton fell to 10-8 on the season while James Madison improved to 18-7. Seven of Princeton's eight losses have come by one or two runs.
Princeton managed just two hits in game one, both in the second inning from Alyssa Schmidt and Alex Peyton, but the Tigers couldn't convert. JMU's Jailyn Ford (8-1) finished with a walk and six strikeeouts in addition to those two hits, going the distance to earn her fifth shutout of the season.
JMU got on the board in the opener with back-to-back doubles in the third innings, Hannah Hayes cashing in Catherine Clavin, and Ford made it stand up.
Shanna Christian (4-3) took the hard-luck loss for Princeton, as the rookie fanned a career-best nine batters in 5 2/3 innings while allowing four hits and a walk along with the game's only run. Meredith Brown got the last out of the sixth in relief to keep it at 1-0 after the Dukes moved an insurance run to third base with two down.
James Madison cracked the scoreboard in the fifth in the nightcap, using a single and three Princeton errors to bring home the game's first run. A solo shot from JMU's Sarah Mooney made it 2-0 in the sixth.
Liza Kuhn (3-2) took the loss for Princeton in relief of Meredith Brown, who gave up two hits and a walk in four scoreless innings. Kuhn allowed two hits and walked three, striking out a pair in her two innings while earning one of the two Dukes runs. Heather Kiefer (6-3) limited Princeton to three hits and a walk as she earned her first complete-game shutout of the season. Peyton, Cara Worden and Danielle Allen shared Princeton's hits in the nightcap.
After having faced Georgetown Tuesday, the Tigers will head back to D.C. for a single game against George Washington at 3 p.m. tomorrow.
