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The Yale softball team played a tough series last weekend against Princeton. The Bulldogs were outmatched and swept at home by the Ivy League’s second placed Tigers. 

With the losses, the Bulldogs (8–20, 6–9 Ivy) fell back under .500 despite winning a road series against Columbia last weekend. Princeton (19–13–1, 11–4) maintained its good standing at the top of the Ivy League and finished the weekend in second place, just behind Harvard. Game one of Sunday’s double header between the Ancient Eight foes was nationally televised on ESPNU, the first time in program history that the Elis were featured on the national stage. 

“It is very exciting for us to get the opportunity to play on national television,” pitcher Nicole Conway ’23 said entering the weekend. “We want to do our very best as always but now we know that a lot more people are watching which will fire everyone up even more!”

The Bulldogs nearly got shutout on Saturday, a 9–1 loss in only five innings. In NCAA Division I softball, if a team leads by eight or more runs after five innings, the game is called. The Elis met this fate twice this past weekend.

Conway got the start in the weekend’s first contest, but exited after a rough three innings. Pitcher Miranda Papes ’22 allowed just one hit in her two innings of relief. On the offensive side, Yale did not record a hit until the fourth inning when centerfielder Alex Perren ’25 singled to start the inning. A few batters later, third baseman Willa Ferrer ’24 singled to score Perren and get the Bulldogs on the board.

Game two proved to be an even tougher challenge for Yale, as the Bulldogs were no-hit in a 12–0 five inning loss. Maddie Latta ’25 took the mound for head coach Jen Goodwin’s squad, but only pitched two innings. Papes and Conway combined to finish off the remaining three.

“In terms of pitching preparation, I strive to go into each game mentally and physically ready,” Latta said. “I have a game day routine that I like to follow when warming up … Ivy League play has been both a fun ride and a learning process for me. I have come away with many valuable lessons and have made some unforgettable memories with my teammates and coaches.”

Princeton’s junior pitcher Alexis Laudenslager struck out ten batters in her five innings of work. Laudenslager leads the Tigers with a 2.50 earned run average and a 1.29 WHIP, or walks and hits for innings pitched. Sunday marked her second no-hitter of the season, with the first coming in a full seven inning contest against Brown. According to Princeton Athletics, the junior is the second Tiger in program history to record two no-hitters in the same year and the first to do so against two Ivy opponents. 

Yale put up a much stronger fight in game three and narrowly lost the contest 5–4. Conway pitched a complete game, only allowing two earned runs, with three additional unearned runs scoring in the first inning.

The Bulldogs recorded their first run of the day in the bottom of the first, when catcher Sam Goodcase ’24 doubled to score shortstop Carolyn Skotz ’24. Ferrer singled later in the inning, scoring two runs and tying the game at three. In the sixth, with Yale facing a two run deficit following Tiger runs in the third and fourth innings, Latta homered to bring the Elis within one. In the bottom of the seventh, Yale was able to get two base runners aboard, but Princeton relief pitcher Molly Chambers shut the door and struck out Goodcase, the Ivy League’s leader in batting average at an eye-popping .397. 

“This year playing in the Ivy League has been different for me personally because the only other year I played I was a freshman so now I am the one who is supposed to be experienced and know what I’m doing,” Conway told the News. “In terms of ability I think we have a very talented team this year. We have had more obstacles than we ever could have imagined so far, but have managed to fight through.”

Yale will host Cornell this weekend in its final home series of the year.