Taylor Vescagni was punching them out and Anna Riva was hitting them out for the La Salle-Peru softball team at Princeton’s Little Siberia Field on Tuesday.

Vescagni struck out the first 10 batters she faced, throwing six innings of no-hit ball with 12 strikeouts. Riva continued playing home run derby, smashing two homers and driving in five runs.

That 1-2 punch carried the Cavaliers (3-5) to a 7-2 win over previously undefeated Princeton (4-1).

Vescagni said having Riva’s big bat makes her job easier.

“Anna’s obviously been hot. Her bat’s been hot. We get on base and she comes up with a big hit every time,” Vescagni said. “It’s really nice to have runs on the board when I go out in the circle.

Riva gave Vescagni the only run she needed with a home run to center field in the top of the second. She added a three-run round-tripper in the fifth inning, opening up a 5-0 lead.

It was Riva’s sixth home run in the last five games, a streak that’s even surprised herself.

“It’s been going great. My home runs are usually spread out through the year. Yeah, this year has been pretty close together,” she said. “(I’m) taking easy swings, just kind of cutting loose a little bit and laying back on the ball a little bit. My timing on the ball has been pretty good, too.”

“I told (Anna) to relax. You’re playing a game of failure. You hit .300, you failed seven out of 10 times. Just go up there and hit ... and that’s what she’s done,” Cavs coach Randy Huebbe said.

Riva joked that Huebbe has asked her what she’s been eating lately and she admitted to eating a lot of eggs.

With the way Riva has been hitting, Vescagni doesn’t need to be perfect, but yet she was through the first four innings. She punched out the first 10 batters she faced and didn’t allow a baserunner until Makayla Hecht worked her for a leadoff walk in the fifth.

“My rise ball was really on in the beginning of the game. I’ve added a drop ball to my repertoire this year. That combination of a rise ball and a drop was really working for me. That’s exciting,” said Vescagni, who has signed to pitch for Colgate University.

“Taylor just dominates out there. She goes with a mindset, ‘I’m going to lead my team. I’m ready to do this for them,’ ” Riva said.

Huebbe pulled Vescagni after six innings despite the no-hitter she had going on since she had pitched a full game on Monday.

“Taylor pitched a no-hitter at Streator yesterday, and pitched a no-hitter here, too. I just took her out because she’s thrown a lot of pitches the last two days. .... She was just blowing it by them today and that changeup was just nasty,” Huebbe said.

Princeton’s Keely Lawson greeted reliever Claire Boudreau in the bottom of the seventh with a single to left for the Tigresses’ first hit of the game. Avah Oertel followed with a two-run blast to left to get the Tigresses on the board.

First-year Princeton head coach Jessica Strauch had this game circled on her calendar the moment she landed the job. She played for L-P and was an assistant coach the past eight years. Her boyfriend, Ryan Huebbe, a PHS assistant, is the son of the Cavs’ coach.

“Yeah circled, starred, X’ed, highlighted, everything,” Strauch said. “It’s a good game. L-P’s has a great team. Taylor Vescogni is a fantastic pitcher. It was something our girls have not see before. And honestly, I was impressed with how they handled it. They did a good job. They did a lot of the little things right.

“The biggest thing for them, that’s a mentally tough game when you’re facing something like that. They did a good job of just staying mentally tough all the way through. Sometimes you need a loss to focus on the little things a little bit more.”

It was a game that Randy Huebbe was not sure he wanted to play.

“I almost wish we didn’t play them. Not afraid to lose or anything, (but) because of the father-son,” he said. “It’s nice to see them. I’m happy for them. They’ve had a nice start. I’m proud of them both.”

Karmen Piano went 3 for 4 with a double while Maggie Boudreau had a pair of doubles and Makenzie Chamberlain went 2 for 4 with a RBI.

Reese Reviglio took the loss in the circle, surrendering five earned runs on eight hits in 4⅔ innings.

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L-P's Anna Riva is met at home plate by her teammates after hitting a home run against Princeton on Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at Little Siberia Field in Princeton. (Scott Anderson)