March 16, 2016 Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
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LOS ANGELES - The LMU softball team concluded a nine-game home stretch with a doubleheader sweep of Princeton Wednesday afternoon at Smith Field. The Lions took game one, 5-4, and game two, 8-1, improving to 18-8 on the year.
LMU rode the long ball in the opening game as solo home runs buy Sterling Shuster, Meghan von Behren, Alex Finie and Alicia Brown accounted for the first four runs of the game. von Behren would knock in the the Lions' fifth run on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch.
The Lions held a 5-1 lead through five complete, but Princeton would rally late. The Tigers collected four hits in the top of the sixth to push two runs across the plate. After LMU starter Rachael Farrington (9-3) hit leadoff batter Kayla Grant to open the seventh, Stephanie Crist entered in relief.
An illegal pitch would allow the Princeton runner to advance to second and a ground out put her in scoring position. Crist got Haley Hineman to fly out to left, but Grant would score on the sacrifice fly, bringing the Tigers within one. But Crist completed her first save of the season by getting the final batter to ground out, preserving the win.
Game two was a pitchers' duel through the first three complete innings as neither team could get a runner past first base.
LMU finally broke things open in the bottom of the fourth, though mostly by taking advantage of Princeton's miscues. With bases loaded on two walks and a single, Shuster was hit by a pitch to drive in the game's first run. Aria Pogni followed with another hit-by-pitch RBI, forcing Tiger starter Ashley La Guardia to the bench.
But reliever Erica Nori walked Stephanie Maciel for LMU's third run, von Behren drove an RBI-single into left field and one more run would score on a wild pitch before Princeton was able to end the inning on a double play.
The Tigers would get one run back in the top of the fifth, but the Lions would not allow a similar late rally. Instead, they added a single run in the fifth on a Shuster sacrifice fly, and two more in the seventh on an RBI-double by von Behren and an RBI-ground out by Crist.
Hannah Bandimere improved to 9-4 with the complete-game victory. The freshman struck out five, walked two and allowed just five hits for one earned run.
von Behren had a pair of hits in each game, extending her on-base streak to 19 straight games.
The Lions head to Northridge, Calif., Friday and Saturday for the CSUN Invitational. LMU will face Yale on Friday at 11 a.m., followed by a 4 p.m. matchup with the host Matadors. They wrap things up at CSUN on Saturday with an 8:30 a.m. first pitch versus Idaho State.
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