Princeton University Athletics
Promising Season Ahead in Princeton Softball's Silver Anniversary
February 27, 2006 | Softball
Feb. 27, 2006
Returning six of eight position players and both ace pitchers from last season, the Princeton softball team is in a fine position to make school history. After earning her first NCAA berth in 1994, then-head coach Cindy Cohen led the Tigers to postseason appearances in 1995 and 1996. All three of those came with current head coach, Maureen Barron, on the team as its top pitcher. The postseason eluded Princeton the next five years and Barron returned to take over the program in 2001. Following appearances in 2002, 2003 and last season, Barron will seek to do something her mentor did not, take her Tigers to four NCAA Tournament appearances in five years.
Three Tigers earned first-team All-Ivy honors and both pitcher slots on that team were Princeton players. Erin Snyder, who won six of the eight Ivy League Pitcher of the Week honors awarded last year, was named the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year and returns for her senior season. Starter number 1A to Snyder's No. 1 is sophomore Kristen Schaus, the Ivy League's Rookie of the Year last season.
Gone, however, is Princeton's third first-team All-Ivy performer, Melissa Finley. Princeton's career and single-season home run leader, Finley will be a loss at the plate and in her centerfield position. She is one of just two starters not to return, joining catcher Ty Ries as members of the Class of 2005.
"We're going to miss [Finley], but we're excited about this team," Barron said. "Whether it's other people who have great years and it's a shared effort or someone steps up, we feel good about our offense. We'll also miss Ty Ries behind the plate; she ran the show for four years." But the Ivy accolades did not end there. Shortstop Cristina Cobb-Adams, now a senior, infielder Beth Dalmut, a sophomore, and third baseman Amanda Erickson, also back for her final year, earned honorable mention on the All-Ivy list.
Last year's Princeton team continued a high standard that is now left to the 2006 team to uphold. After winning 36 games, the most since 1996, the last Women's College World Series appearance for the Orange and Black, much is expected of a 2006 team that returns so much talent.
"We have only two more players on the roster than last year, but I feel like we have a small army because we have strong depth. We have six freshmen and so many options that it will be tough for me to make the lineup every game," Barron said.
In the circle
Princeton's strongest area is in the circle, with Snyder closing in on career records and Schaus announcing her arrival last year by pairing with Snyder to become the first Princeton duo to each strike out 200 batters in the same year. With a strong season, Snyder can become the second-winningest pitcher in school history, behind only her coach. Nineteen wins, two more than last season, would give her 58 for her career and move her into second place on the Princeton list, behind Barron's 83 victories. One record Snyder is almost certain to break during the pre-conference season is the career strikeout mark. With 561 Ks, 36 strikeouts will move her past Barron for the school's all-time record.
Snyder's numbers are getting better by the season. She won a career-high 17 games last year and her ERA has dropped each season, finishing at 0.93 last year. With 473 innings already, Snyder is likely to end her career second on the Princeton list in innings pitched. She also posted career-bests in strikeouts (225, setting a single-season record), walks (20), runs (25) and earned runs (21).
Hitting more home runs than you give up is a rarity for a pitcher, even in college softball where many don't hit. But Snyder did that, knocking out six and giving up five. She hit a career-best .295 last year and led the team in RBI with 30. Her 51 hits were third on the team.
And still, there is Schaus. Posting a 1.55 ERA as a rookie while winning 14 games, Schaus edged Snyder in number of innings worked, throwing 162.2 to Snyder's 158.2. Together, Snyder and Schaus threw 82 percent of the innings last year accounted for 31 of Princeton's 36 wins. Calli Varner, who played 31 games overall, had 11 appearances in the circle and won the remaining five games last year. She carried a solid 1.90 ERA in 51.2 innings of work.
"We expect [Snyder] to continue what she's been doing and we're fortunate to have Kristen [Schaus] as well. Where most teams have one ace and then their number two and number three, we feel like we have two number ones. Varner also did a great job even though she didn't get as many innings. With so many good pitchers, we have to share the load and our pitchers complement each other very well with different speeds and breaking pitches."
Behind the plate
With Amanda Erickson seeing time at the corners as well, duties behind the plate will sometimes fall to a pair of freshmen, Samantha O'Hara and Larkin Brogan. Erickson hit .241 and was third on the team in doubles with 11 while playing 48 games.
"[O'Hara] is a good defensive catcher and a good hitter who will see time, and [Brogan] is a smart catcher who has a good presence on the field. She will share time behind the plate and appear in the outfield sometimes as well."
O'Hara, like Barron a native of Ontario, Canada, was invited to try out for the Canadian national softball team and may participate in the country's developmental softball program.
Around the horn
Princeton's infield returns a great deal of experience at all four positions, led by senior Cobb-Adams. The only returner to hit over .300 last year, Cobb-Adams had a team-high 55 hits with 11 doubles, a pair of triples and two home runs. She carried a .932 fielding percentage and was Princeton's top base-stealer on a team that only attempted nine, swiping all four times she chanced it. Backing up Cobb-Adams is rookie Jackie Araneo, whom Barron describes as perhaps her strongest freshman heading into the class' rookie season.
Araneo and two returners will split time at second base. Lauren Bierman, a sophomore, hit .288 last year, good for fourth on the team, and sported a .976 fielding percentage in 43 games. Senior Lindsay Motal played in 42 contests a year ago and drew a team-high 29 walks at the plate.
Junior Tiffany Andras, Erickson and Araneo are penciled in to split third-base duties. Andras played in 56 games last season, hitting .233.
As if her pitching talent and proficiency at the plate weren't enough, Snyder will play some first base when she's not in the circle. Erickson and Beth Dalmut, who hit .265 last year with 40 hits and a .962 fielding percentage, will also play first.
Outfield
Finley's centerfield position will likely be filled by junior Stephanie Steel, and her duties at the plate are sure to be divided among a number of Tiger batsmen.
Finley started all 56 games, had a team-high .321 batting average and knocked a team-best 13 doubles and eight home runs. She made just one error in 54 chances for a .981 fielding clip. She also swiped the only two stolen bases that didn't go to Cobb-Adams, going 2 for 3 on the basepaths. The Tigers will need to replace all that production one way or another.
Barron plans to use much of her team's depth in the outfield, where she projects seven players will see significant time across the three positions.
Steel, who returned from injury last season to play 28 games, hit .224 with 17 hits and three doubles. She made just one error in 23 chances. Andras and Dalmut, when not manning the corners, could play in the outfield. So could junior Betsy Allaway, primarily a defensive replacement who played in 28 games last year, starting 24. Freshmen in the mix for outfield time include Brianna Moreno, Erin Miller and Kathryn Welch.
Designated player
When not catching, look for O'Hara to get experience at the plate as Princeton's designated player. Varner, who hit .244 with 22 hits last year, also figures to occupy that spot.
The schedule
A rigorous schedule again awaits the Tigers in 2006. The season begins Mar. 3-5 at the University of North Carolina for the Tar Heel Invitational. South Carolina of the Southeastern Conference and the host Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference are on the docket, as are Canisius, first-year program Memphis, and new Division I member North Dakota State. The Tigers have some postseason history with the Gamecocks as the two teams met in the 2003 NCAA Regional. Princeton took a 7-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh, three outs from recording a postseason victory in its opening game. But South Carolina tagged Snyder for six runs in the bottom of the final inning to steal the win.
After a weekend off, Princeton plays 14 games in 10 days in California with two off days mixed in. The first portion of the Golden State trip is in Sacramento for the Capital Classic hosted by Sacramento State. Utah State, Minnesota of the Big Ten Conference, Miami University, Southern Utah and Nevada make up Princeton's schedule in California's capital. Following doubleheaders against local schools St. Mary's and Sacramento State, Princeton heads over San Francisco Bay to play in the Stanford Invitational. A year after recording a win over Stanford of the traditionally powerful Pacific-10 Conference, the two teams meet again. Illinois, another Big Ten member, UC Davis and Santa Clara fill out Princeton's schedule at Stanford.
"We will see some great teams in our first tournament with North Carolina and South Carolina," Barron said. "We're going back to the Stanford Tournament and we'll see teams that already have 15 or 20 games under their belts and that's part of the challenge."
Upon returning from the West Coast, Princeton has only two days off before taking the field again on Mar. 29 for a twinbill against Rutgers in the 2006 home opener. The next day, the Orange and Black will travel to Fairfield.
The Ivy opener follows down in Philadelphia against Penn on Apr. 1, beginning a series of league games on weekends with non-league contests mixed in during the week, making for few idle days come springtime. The traditional 14 league games await Princeton with Yale, Brown, Columbia and Cornell coming to 1895 Field. The Tigers travel to Harvard, Dartmouth and Penn.
In all, 16 games, all doubleheaders, are scheduled to be played at `95 Field. Upon returning from the Spring Break trip, nine non-conference twinbills await the Tigers to complement the seven league days, all taking place in a span of 39 days from Mar. 29 to May 6. Following the doubleheader at Rider to end the regular season, should it qualify, Princeton would have just under two weeks off before the beginning of NCAA Regionals, which are scheduled to start on May 19. With a busy schedule behind them and the goal of four NCAA Tournaments in five years achieved, the 13-day break would be doubly welcome.