Princeton pounds Wayne Christian

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on April 24, 2007 2:32 PM

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The body language of starting pitcher Traci Davis told a lot more than the scoreboard did on Monday afternoon.

Frustration was showing through Davis as well as the rest of her Wayne Christian teammates as they were pounded for the second straight game, losing 14-0 to Princeton in five innings on Monday.

The loss is the Eagles' second in a row after being undefeated and ranked as the state's top team. On Saturday, Wayne Christian dropped its first game in 2007, 13-3 to Fayetteville Christian.

"We don't look like the same team out there," said Wayne Christian coach Roger Longwell. "Being undefeated and when you take a loss it kind of tears you up. I don't know if it's a carry over or not, but the kids seem to have lost their confidence"

Davis didn't seem fazed by Saturday's loss early on as she held Princeton hitless and faced seven total batters over her first two innings.

It then looked as if Davis would keep things scoreless as she retired the first two hitters of the third inning, but Princeton had other ideas.

The Bulldogs began to chip away at Davis. Rebecca Harlan reached on a hit, Brittany Baker on a dropped third strike and Amber Wood walked to load the bases.

Following the walk, an obviously frustrated Davis kicked at the dirt and stared into the ground.

Ashley Braswell then came up and hit a fly ball just out of the reach of left fielder Cynthia Burroughs. All three runners would score as Braswell ended up with a double.

Braswell finished the day 2-for-3 with four RBIs.

"That hit was nice," said Princeton coach Terry Braswell. "She had been struggling, not really making contact. That hit really turned things around."

Haylee Wood followed with an RBI single to score Braswell and put the Bulldogs ahead 4-0 over the host Eagles.

Wood also had a strong day for Princeton, going 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs.

"Haylee's been hitting the ball well lately," said Braswell.

Princeton came right back with five more runs in the top of the fourth and in the fifth inning to go ahead by the final margin of 14-0.

"We haven't hit that well this year, but we're coming along better," said Braswell.

Six errors in those two innings also frustrated Davis and the Eagles as they missed opportunity after opportunity to limit the damage.

The normally strong Davis (7-2) struggled mightily in her five innings, allowing 14 runs (10 earned) on nine hits, walked four and struck out five.

"Some spots she was hitting and others she wasn't," Longwell said of Davis.

Meanwhile Princeton starter April Keene was dominant against the Eagles.

The right-hander allowed just three hits over her five innings while striking out seven and walking only one to improve to 6-2.

"She did a great job today," said Braswell.

Against Keene, Wayne Christian was able to get two runners on in three different innings, but couldn't get a clutch hit to drive them home.

The win improves Princeton to 11-4 and drops Wayne Christian to 9-2.

"Princeton played good, but they're definitely beatable," said Longwell. "It was just one of those days. I'm hoping we get this changed around soon."

Princeton 004 55 -- 14 9 3

Wayne Christian 000 00 -- 0 3 7

Leading Hitters -- Princeton -- Ashley Braswell 2-3, 2B, 4 RBIs, R; Haylee Wood 2-4, 2B, 4 RBIs; Tylan George 2-3, 2 R, RBI; April Keene 1-2, RBI; Rebecca Harlan 1-3, RBI, 2 R Amber Wood 0-1, 2 R, RBI. Wayne Christian -- Traci Davis 1-2, Carly Hightower 1-2, Reagan Hinton 1-3.

LOB -- Princeton 3, Wayne Christian 7. SB -- Myers, Whitley. CS -- Wood. S -- Wood, Keene.

IP H R ER BB SO

Princeton

Keene (W, 6-2) 5 3 0 0 1 7

Wayne Christian

Davis (L, 7-2) 5 9 14 10 4 5

WP -- Davis 4. PB -- Harlan 2.