Princeton University Athletics
Softball Hosts Seton Hall Before Final Ivy Weekend
April 17, 2006 | Softball
April 17, 2006
PRINCETON, N.J. - Coming off a one-run loss to Cornell in the second game of a doubleheader, the Princeton softball team's final Ivy weekend became much more pressing. But before dealing with their postseason fate, the Tigers (23-12) host two-time defending Big East champion Seton Hall Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. twinbill.
Princeton, which had been rolling through the Ivy League to its first 9-0 league start since 1996, dropped a game to Cornell Sunday afternoon that kept the team's Ivy lead at two games instead of four. Since Cornell has two league games in hand on the Tigers, Princeton must win all four next weekend to claim the Ivy title and NCAA Championship bid without help.
With all that under consideration, Princeton must first deal with Seton Hall (23-21) in what is the team's next-to-last home game of the season before another Big East team comes to Class of 1895 Field April 29 when St. John's visits. Before splitting with the Red Storm Saturday, Seton Hall had won six straight with doubleheader sweeps of Villanova, Long Island and Iona. Before they tangle with the Tigers, the Pirates entertain Rutgers Tuesday.
State champs: As Princeton prepares to face its second opponent from the Garden State, the Tigers carry an all-time record of 111-37 against their fellow New Jersey schools. Against the Pirates, Princeton is 23-8 all-time. Recently, however, Seton Hall has won seven of the nine meetings in Maureen Barron's tenure.
If they played on paper...: Princeton's stats compare favorably with Seton Hall on the season. The Tigers' team batting average has warmed almost steadily since the team's first weekend, currently sitting at .281. Both teams had three regular starters above .300 with Kathryn Welch (.373), Calli Jo Varner (.342) and Cristina Cobb-Adams (.313) fitting that standard for Princeton. Senior shortstop Katie Pierce leads the Pirates with a .382 batting average, while senior outfielder Caitlin White is at .341 and sophomore utility player Jenna Best is at .303. Sluggin' it: Princeton and Seton Hall can both provide some pop in the bats with the Pirates hitting 28 home runs and the Tigers 20. Though Pierce leads Seton Hall with seven and Welch and Amanda Erickson each have four, the power is spread throughout the lineup. Ten players have homered for each team this year.
Don't Walk: Though Erin Snyder had her scoreless streak snapped this past weekend, the Cornell and Columbia batters had to work to get those runners on. Snyder has not allowed a walk since March 30 at Fairfield, carrying a span of 36 innings into the week. Snyder has allowed only five walks all season. Over 94 2/3 innings pitched, that's one walk every 19 innings.
There's no K in Snyder? While the letter K may not be part of Snyder's name, it sure is all over the scoresheet when she pitches. Snyder has fanned 159 batters this year, posting a rate of 11.76 strikeouts per seven innings. She has fanned no fewer than 11 batters in each of her last four starts and struck out 19 of a maximum 21 against Brown last weekend.
Get her some runs: Kristen Schaus' 10-7 record belies her 1.83 ERA. In Schaus' last four losses, she has allowed no more than three runs but still took the 'L.' This was no more evident than on Sunday when Schaus limited the Ivy's second-place team, Cornell, to three runs but got just two in her favor.
More K: Snyder isn't the only one getting batters to swing and miss. Her 159 Ks aren't the most on the team, a distinction that belongs to Schaus' 166. As of last week's NCAA statistics, Princeton was one of only three schools in all of Division I to have two pitchers in the top 26 in strikeouts per seven innings.
Staying at home: While nine of the 17 players on Princeton's roster come from California, 14 of Seton Hall's 19 players are from Mid-Atlantic and New England states. Freshman pitcher Ashley Arnett is the only Californian on the Pirate roster.
Talkin' arms: Again on paper, the Tigers carry a much stronger pitching staff into Wednesday's doubleheader than do the Pirates. Princeton's staff has logged a 1.64 ERA, lower than SHU's 3.34. The Tiger arms have also proven to be much more overpowering than Seton Hall's averaging 10.22 Ks per seven innings to 4.37 for the Pirates. Three Seton Hall pitchers have shared most of the 283 1/3 innings including rookies Arnett and Kim Schweitzer and junior Jessica Jones, all righthanders.
Dalmut gets going: Sophomore Beth Dalmut has just 11 starts on the year including each of the last six games, but she has responded when her name is on the lineup card, getting hits in seven of those 11 starts. She set a career-best with four RBI and a 2 for 2 day in five innings against Nevada March 19. She carries a four-game hit streak into the week and launched her first home run of the season Sunday against Cornell. During the homestand, Dalmut was 6 for 11 at the plate.
Streakin' it: Erickson has an eight-game hit streak and had multi-RBI games against both Columbia and Cornell. Against the Big Red, Erickson was 4 for 7 with five RBI, launching her team-best fourth home run of the year in the opener.
Kat the Bat: Welch continues to produce for the Tigers, hitting in five of the six games last week including going 7 for 11 in the last three games. In the nightcap against Columbia, an 8-2 win, Welch had four RBI including her team-best fourth home run of the year. Her average is now up to a career-high .373. The average is especially impressive since Welch had a difficult first weekend of the season, starting 0 for 11. Since then, Welch has been hitting .418.
Looking ahead: Princeton travels to Harvard and Dartmouth for a pair of 1 p.m. doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday. With four wins, Princeton gets a bid to the NCAA Championship regardless of what happens elsewhere in the league. But with a loss, the Tigers must hope for Cornell to lose one of its last six, all against teams in the league's second division.