From the very start, this did not look like the same two teams and pitching matchup that saw Princeton rack up a 14-1 victory with 14 runs on 12 hits and eight walks over Mendota on Monday.

This time around, the Trojans staked pitcher Lexie Saylor to a 3-0 lead after 4½ innings when the Three Rivers East rivals met Thursday at Princeton.

Princeton’s offense came to life, scoring six runs in the bottom of the fifth and six more in the sixth en route to a 12-4 victory.

Princeton senior Keely Lawson knew things wouldn’t be as easy this time around.

“We knew Mendota was off Monday and we 10-runned them. They showed up today and wanted to kill us,’ she said.

Princeton coach Jessica Strauch did her best to snap the Tigresses out of their funk.

“(Mendota) definitely came out ready to fight. They came out, ‘yep it’s a fluke, it’s a fluke.’ They wanted to show us they were great,” she said. “They had us for a little bit, but that change of energy with the girls. You have to go to them and say, ‘hey this is not our best. Look at me in the eye and tell me it’s the best.’ And they all said, ‘no,’ and I said, ‘let’s change it here.’

“I’d like to see us start with that energy and fire instead of slow-lighting fire, but you know what, it’s part of the game. Adversity is part of the game. So them being able to adapt to it is always good to see.”

The fifth inning started innocently enough for the Tigresses as freshman Collyns Etheridge reached when her fly to right was dropped. Caroline Keutzer singled to center and Lawson followed with a RBI single to left to bring home Etheridge and put the Tigresses on the board.

Avah Oertel was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Clean-up hitter Izzy Gibson hit a dribbler about two feet in front of the plate, but no play was made at any base as Keutzer scored.

Lawson scored on a passed ball to tie the game and catch Kyrra Morris blooped a single to give Princeton its first lead at 4-3. Gibson and courtesy runner Taylor Compton each scored on wild pitches to make it 6-3.

The Tigresses (11-4) kept pouring it on the sixth, scoring six more runs on seven hits to go up 12-4. Oertel got things started with a leadoff single to center. Piper Hansen knocked in two runs with a bloop hit to center, Rutledge had an RBI groundout, Keutzer had an RBI single and Oertel batted around with a sacrifice fly to center to cap the Tigresses’ rally.

Lawson said Saylor (13 hits, nine earned runs) did a good job in cooling down the Tigresses hitters early.

“Her speed was picked up today and her spin was spinning. Kudos to her,” she said. “I think it was important that we kept the ball on the ground because they were playing at the fence. Anything on the ground helped us immensely.”

Senior Reese Reviglio scattered 10 hits with no walks and two earned runs with six strikeouts to earn the win in the circle.

Charlie Dankenbring smoked a solo shot to center field to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead in the third inning.

Karson Doyle led off the Mendota fourth with a double and scored on an errant throw on a steal attempt at third, followed by Dankenbring, who reached on a dropped fly, to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead.

“We came and attacked a little bit better on offense. (Reviglio) threw a lot of pitches last time. I said, ‘just be aggressive. You get three swings. Use them,” Mendota coach Joel Perez said.

“Through the first 4½ innings, it looked really good. We’re young. We’re still working on it. I told them there’s only a month left of the season. You’ve got to mature on the fly and learn. Know where you’ve got to go with the ball. Make those plays that need to be made.”

Keutzer finished with a 4-for-5 day out of the leadoff slot with an RBI and run score. Etheridge went 2 for 3 and Hansen had two RBIs.

Sydney Tolly led the Trojans (4-5) with two hits.