Princeton University Athletics
Saintly Weekend Ahead for Princeton Softball
April 28, 2006 | Softball
April 28, 2006
PRINCETON, N.J. - After clinching the Ivy League title and an NCAA tournament berth Monday, the Princeton softball team (28-15) began its tournament tune-up stretch with a doubleheader sweep of Villanova Thursday. The second and third of those four pre-NCAA twinbills are this weekend when St. John's visits Saturday at 1 p.m. and St. Joseph's hosts the Tigers Sunday at noon.
Thank you seniors: Before Saturday's home finale, the Tigers will honor their four seniors, Cristina Cobb-Adams, Amanda Erickson, Lindsay Motal and Erin Snyder. The class has been a part of three Ivy titles and NCAA tournaments and has posted a 42-14 league record.
Home sweet home: Saturday's contests close Princeton's home season. The Tigers are 9-3 at Class of 1895 Field this year and 2-2 against Big East clubs at home.
On St. John's: The Red Storm will be playing its last road games of the regular season at Princeton, hosting three doubleheaders over the eight days that follow. Statistically, St. John's is a much stronger hitting team than in the circle, posting a .284 collective batting average and 3.62 team ERA. Eight of the nine regular hitters are above .250 with rookie corner infielder Lauren Lupinetti at .387 and senior outfielder Jo Sherlock at .365. The pair has 14 of the team's 23 home runs.
In the circle, the Red Storm has three regular starters, including junior Kimberly Lerch (7-6, 2.59 ERA), sophomore Lisa Geer (11-9, 3.91) and freshman Jessica Foley (7-8, 4.47). The Princeton staff is much more overpowering on paper than its St. John's counterparts, with the Tigers carrying a 7:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio while the Red Storm's is just over 1.5:1. Opposing hitters are batting .273 against St. John's while Princeton's opponents are a far less successful .183. The series: Princeton leads the all-time series 13-4. The series was a yearly occurrence from 1987-1994, but the teams have not played since. The Tigers have won the last nine and are 5-3 at home all-time against the Red Storm.
Early morning: While 10 of Princeton's 17 players are from hometowns that spend their springs and summers in the Pacific Time Zone, the Red Storm has even more parents used to softball brunches. Of the 16 players on the St. John's roster, 14 are from places where Saturday's opener will be starting at 10 a.m. their time.
Special K: During her win over Villanova Thursday, Kristen Schaus became the second pitcher in Princeton history to have two 200-strikeout seasons. She fanned 217 while winning the Ivy Rookie of the Year award last year and is sitting on 204 Ks at present. Lisa Moore '94 is the other, striking out 217 in 1991 and 1992. Snyder will likely join that club soon with 193 Ks this year after her school-record 225 last year.
Four outs?: A softball rarity was achieved Thursday when Schaus struck out four batters in an inning. Her first strikeout victim reached on a passed ball and Schaus proceeded to strike out the side.
Don't walk: Though Snyder's walkless streak ended at 47 2/3 innings at Dartmouth, the free passes did not become a trend. After that fifth-inning aberration against the Big Green, Snyder went walkless for the rest of the game and didn't issue a free pass to the Wildcats Thursday either. She has given up only six walks all season and carries a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 32:1.
Dal-mania: Beth Dalmut has figured out that more hits equal more starts. The sophomore outfielder has been in the starting lineup in each of the last 14 games and has gotten a hit in 12, including six straight. Her batting average continues to climb accordingly. A .200 hitter at the beginning of her starting role, her batting average has jumped 139 points to .339, all in the space of 16 days.
A fine closing act: Erickson is on quite a hot streak lately, going 2 for 3 in each of her last four games. Since a rough stretch during the spring trip in which she went 0 for 22, Erickson has gotten a hit in 21 of the last 25 games. A .379 hitter at the start of that bleak string last month, Erickson's average is now back above .300 at .310.
More Snyder: Snyder's senior season continues to be impressive. Making 17 starts plus one relief appearance in which she picked up the win, Snyder has received the decision all 18 times, going 14-4. She has allowed more than two runs, earned or unearned, only once. She has struck out better than a batter an inning in 15 of her 17 starts, fanning six the other two times. Snyder has posted double-digit strikeouts in 11 games with a high of 19 (of a possible 21) against Brown April 10.
No K: While strikeouts have been a popular item for Princeton's pitching staff, one Tiger batter in particular is anti-K. Junior Stephanie Steel entered the week ranked No. 14 in all of Division I for the lowest number of strikeouts per at-bat. She did nothing against Villanova to change that and has fanned only five times in 120 at-bats, a rate of 24 at-bats per strikeout.
Fab freshman: Outfielder Kathryn Welch is making a strong case for her candidacy to become Princeton's seventh Ivy Rookie of the Year and third in the last four years. Welch's sixth-inning home run was the difference in Princeton's 1-0 win over Villanova in the opener and was her team-high sixth of the year. She also leads the team in batting average (.349), runs scored (30), hits (44), total bases (69) and slugging percentage (.548). Defensively, Welch has been perfect in the outfield, making the catch all 28 times. She has also stolen 2 of 3 bases and is willing to lay down the bunt, making a team second-best seven sacrifice hits.
Phine with Philly: Princeton improved to 4-0 against Philadelphia-area teams Thursday with the sweep at Villanova and will look to continue their Big 5 domination Sunday at St. Joseph's. April 1, Princeton swept at Penn.
On St. Joseph's: The Hawks are struggling at the plate and in the circle, hitting .238 as a team and posting a 4.00 ERA. It has shown in the team's record as St. Joseph's carries a 12-33-1 mark and limps into the weekend having lost five straight. Before hosting the Tigers, St. Joseph's has a Big 5 battle to undertake when La Salle makes the cross-town trip Friday.
Rookie outfielder Kelsey Moir is the team's top hitter at .315 and only batter over .300. St. Joseph's splits its pitching duties between three arms, including sophomore Lauren Cognigni (8-15, 3.11 ERA), freshman Dani Gonzalez (1-8, 4.06) and junior Lauren Hughes (3-10, 5.69).
Go Falcons!: A pair of Pennsbury High School (Fairless Hills, Pa.) grads will be meeting up Sunday and possibly facing one another at the plate. Welch is a 2005 Pennsbury alumna and Hawks pitcher Cognigni is a 2004 grad.
Looking ahead: Princeton's last regular-season doubleheader is May 6 down Route 206 at Rider. After that, the Tigers have 12 days away from competition before NCAA Regionals open May 19. Princeton will learn its destination May 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPNews.