Princeton University Athletics
Columbia and Cornell Visit Softball for Critical Ivy Series
April 13, 2006 | Softball
April 13, 2006
PRINCETON, N.J. - It's not make-or-break, but a successful series this weekend for the Princeton softball team (20-11, 6-0 Ivy) against Columbia and Cornell sure would make life easier for the Tigers. A strong weekend would give Princeton, which has a two-game lead over Cornell, Sunday's opponent, a stranglehold on the conference race. But if the Tigers stumble, it could be a tough fight for a postseason berth.
A look at the Ivies: Princeton has a two-game lead over Cornell at 3-1 and a three-game lead over both of next week's opponents, Harvard and Dartmouth at 2-2. Penn (2-4), Yale, Columbia and Brown (1-3) are all at four games back. Princeton and Penn finish the league schedule next weekend at Harvard/Dartmouth while the other six schools play their travel partners April 29 to end the Ivy season.
What a season: Erin Snyder is putting together quite a senior year. She has picked up the win in her last six appearances including one win in relief to move to 10-3. Monday against Brown, she fanned 19 batters of a maximum 21 outs to give her 133 strikeouts this season and 694 for her career. This season, she has fanned a double-digit number of batters seven times already, giving her a Ks-per-seven average of 11.6. That's good for ninth in all of Division I, second-highest among players not from a major conference.
But wait, there's more: Not only is Snyder having a fine season in the circle, but sophomore Kristen Schaus is as well. She stands 26th in the nation in Ks-per-seven at 9.8. That makes Princeton as one of only three schools, along with Arizona and Tennesee, both of whom have made Women's College World Series appearances recently, to have two pitchers ranked that highly in the category.
DE-fense!: Princeton ranks No. 4 in Division I in fielding percentage, making only 16 errors in 793 chances (.980). It shouldn't come as a surprise then that the No. 1 team in that category, UC Santa Barbara (.982) lists 2002 Princeton alumna Brie Galicinao as an assistant coach. Get 'em while you can: Snyder's 0.78 earned run average ranks 12th in Division I and second among pitchers outside the six major conferences. Largely between the efforts of Snyder and Schaus, Princeton carries a 1.59 ERA, good for 22nd in the nation.
Usually a good sign: At the last release of Ivy statistics following Monday's doubleheaders, Princeton ranked first in the league in pitching with a 1.58 ERA and second in batting with a .275 average. The second-ranked team in pitching, Yale, carried a 2.36 ERA as Snyder and Schaus were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in individual ERA.
Formidable foes: Cornell and Columbia rank third and fourth, respectively, in both hitting and pitching. A pair of Ivy League Pitchers of the Year will likely square off Saturday as the 2003 winner, Columbia's Jackie Adelfio (13-9, 2.84 ERA) could meet the 2005 winner, Snyder. Adelfio, a senior, has been counted on this season, shouldering 145.2 of the team's 260.2 innings and making 23 appearances. The team's No. 2 pitcher, Maiya Chard-Yaron (4-9, 3.29 ERA), another senior, is also the team's top hitter at .331. Rookies Valerie Smith (.309, four HR, five doubles, 22 total bases) and Keli Leong (.305, six doubles, 22 total bases) along with junior Kacy Krisman (.250, three HR, four doubles, 19 total bases) are also sluggers to watch for.
...and the Big Red: Sophomore Ashley Wolf is hitting .411 this season, leading the team in hits, doubles and total bases. The only other Big Red player over .300 is rookie Meghan Risica (.302), who has a team-high four home runs. In the circle, sophomore Jenn Meunier is 9-7 with a 2.09 ERA, throwing 103.2 of Cornell's 232 innings. The two other pitchers, senior Whitney Smith (4-5, 2.40) and rookie Haley Mirrer (5-5, 3.65) have split the rest of the work.
Hello Motal: Senior Lindsay Motal had her first multi-hit game of the season Wednesday at Towson. It included a home run that put Princeton ahead 2-0. It was her first home run of the season, eighth of her career.
Don't need the A/C: Schaus has been fanning opposing hitters at a faster clip lately, striking out at least 10 in each of her last three starts. Against Yale, Brown and Towson, Schaus struck out 35 batters in 20 innings and allowed only three runs. That's a 1.05 ERA and a Ks-per-seven rate of 12.25.
Solid as Steel: Though she missed the Towson twinbill while emphasizing the "student" in "student-athlete," junior Stephanie Steel will enter the weekend on something of a hot streak, going 6 for 13 (.462) during the last league weekend, scoring two runs and batting three in as well. For the season, she has also been "stainless Steel" as she's a perfect 22 for 22 in defensive chances from her centerfield position.
Nine is doing fine: Junior Calli Jo Varner, who wears jersey number nine, has raised her average over 100 points since she last went without a hit in the April 1 nightcap at Penn. From the Lehigh game through Wednesday, Varner went 12 for 21 (.571) with seven RBI. She now leads the team with a .354 batting average.
Looking ahead: Princeton hosts Seton Hall for a midweek doubleheader Wed., April 19. Though the Tigers have struggled in road midweek games, with the Towson sweep dropping them to 3-6 in such games, Princeton won its only two home midweekers in a sweep of another Big East school, Rutgers, Mar. 29.