Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Softball Readies for Spring Trip to California
March 13, 2006 | Softball
March 13, 2006
PRINCETON, N.J. - After having last weekend off and playing five games two weekends ago, the Princeton softball team (2-3) readies for a trip filled with pleasant weather and 14 games in 10 days. The Tigers start their trip at the Capital Classic in Sacramento, Calif., where they will face Utah State, Minnesota, Miami (Ohio), Southern Utah and Nevada. After two mid-week doubleheaders with St. Mary's and Sacramento State, the Tigers visit Stanford's tournament, facing Illinois, UC Davis, Santa Clara and the host Cardinal.
Friday in Sacramento, Princeton begins the trip with Utah State and Minnesota. The Aggies from Logan, Utah, enter the weekend with a 2-14 record and will be coming off a long layoff. USU has played a demanding schedule so far, with 12 of its 14 games against teams from the traditionally strong West Coast and the other two, Nebraska and Illinois, from power conferences. After starting its season Feb. 9, USU will not have played since Feb. 26. Sophomore third baseman/outfielder Amy Schiable leads the team at the plate with a .390 average while starting all 14 games. The Aggie pitching staff has been taxed as senior righthander Heather Straight has the team's lowest ERA at 5.25, working a team-best 32 innings. Princeton won the only meeting between the two schools, 2-1 in eight innings, at the 1997 NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.
Following the 12:30 p.m. PT game versus Utah State, the Tigers face Minnesota at 3 p.m. The Gophers enter the weekend at 10-11. Junior catcher Megan Higginbotham is the team's only hitter above .300, hitting a scorching .433 while starting all 21 games. Rookie pitcher Briana Hassett has thrown 77.2 of the team's 141 innings, logging a 5-7 record with a 1.62 ERA. Minnesota took the only meeting, winning Princeton's opening NCAA Tournament game in 2002 on the Gophers' home field, 2-1.
Saturday, the Tigers play Miami (Ohio) and Southern Utah at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. PT, respectively. The RedHawks entered the week on a five-game skid in California that dropped the team's record to 12-13. A hot-hitting team, Miami has eight players batting over .300 and is averaging .314 overall. Leading that group is sophomore first baseman Halle Popson, who is hitting .441 with six home runs in 59 at bats. Senior righthander Courtney Salmon is the team's top pitcher at 6-6 with a 3.21 ERA. Princeton won all six meetings with Miami from 1985 to 1996. Southern Utah is 1-17 heading into its California trip. Tiffany Burt, a senior shortstop, is the team's top-hitting starter at .315 while junior righthander Ashley Christiansen has the team's lowest ERA at 3.78, working 33.1 innings. It will be the first meeting between Princeton and the Thunderbirds.
Nevada wraps up the Capital Classic on Sunday for the Tigers at 11 a.m. PT. The Wolf Pack enters the weekend at 10-14 with Katie Stith, a rookie catcher, as its top hitter among regular starters at .310. Sophomore Jordan McPherson has thrown 87.2 of the team's 160 innings, logging a 2.87 ERA. Sunday's game will be the first meeting between the two schools.
After a day off Monday, the Tigers visit St. Mary's College in Moraga, Calif. for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. PT Tuesday. Princeton swept a doubleheader 6-1 and 5-1 last season at St. Mary's in the first meetings between the two schools. This season, the Gaels entered the week with a 2-16 record and sophomore Bronwyn Russell as the team's top hitter with a .368 average. Six Gaels have recorded innings in the circle with the team carrying an overall ERA of 4.98.
The following day, the Tigers head back to Sacramento for two with the Hornets of Sacramento State on Wed., Mar. 22 at 1 p.m. PT. At 10-9 entering the week, the team has three regular starters over .300 with sophomore outfielder Hilary Johnson leading the team with a .373 average. Senior righthander Nikki Cinque has thrown over half the team's innings and is 5-5 with a 1.19 ERA. Next Wednesday's games will be the first between Princeton and Sacramento State.
Princeton gets its second off day on Thurs., Mar. 23 before starting play at Stanford's tournament on Fri. Mar. 24. On the first day, the Tigers face Illinois and UC Davis at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. PT. Illinois enters the week at 7-10 with five players hitting over .300 led by senior first baseman Jenna Hall's .472 average. Two pitchers have thrown all but eight of the Illini's 114.1 innings with sophomore righthander Claire DeVreese at 5-4 with a 5.89 ERA and rookie righty Kasey Coonce at 2-6 with a 5.54 ERA. The Tigers and Illini have not met.
The Aggies from the University of California at Davis are 8-14 and will have had 11 days off before meeting the Tigers on Mar. 24. Rookie Roxanne Hannan leads four players over .300 at .385 and junior righthander Lindsay Tognetti is the team's top pitcher with a 2.25 ERA in 59 innings. The Tigers and Aggies played a twinbill last season with Princeton winning the first game 3-1 before falling 1-0 in the nightcap.
Sat., Mar. 25, Princeton has its last doubleheader of the trip against Santa Clara and Stanford at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. PT. The Tigers played Santa Clara last season in San Jose, Calif., dropping a 5-4 game in eight innings. The Broncos enter the week with an 8-15 record and senior outfielder Jessica Clee as the team's top hitter at .365. Four arms have split the innings for Santa Clara with the team carrying a 4.86 ERA.
Other than the win over Lehigh that was Princeton's first NCAA Tournament win since 1996, the Tigers' 2-0 victory at Stanford last year was probably the biggest non-conference win of the season. A Pac-10 power, the Cardinal have made two Women's College World Series appearances and are the defending Pac-10 champions, a conference that sent all eight teams to the NCAA Tournament last year. Ranked No. 5 in the nation in the most recent poll, Stanford (22-4) will have had 13 days off before it faces the Tigers. Senior outfielder Catalina Morris leads the team with a .432 batting average. Three pitchers, all with a sub-1.50 ERA, have worked the bulk of Stanford's innings with rookie righthander Missy Penna as the most-used pitcher. She boasts a 13-2 record and 1.49 earned run average.
Sun., Mar. 26, Princeton ends the trip with a 9 a.m. PT game against Illinois before hosting Rutgers on Mar. 29 for the home opener.