Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Tiger Softballers to Start Spring Break in Tampa Friday
March 14, 2007 | Softball
PRINCETON, N.J. -- This year, the Princeton softball team's annual spring break trip will take place in Florida. The 10-day softball-filled break from school will start in Tampa, where the Tigers will compete in the University of South Florida's Speedline Invite.
The Speedline tournament has a 16-team field with four pools of four teams. Princeton is in Pool B along with Indiana University, the University at Buffalo, and Boston University. The Tigers will face each of those teams, followed by a bracket-play game against a team from Pool D (Florida International, Bowling Green, Tennessee-Chattanooga, George Mason) and then at least one against either a Pool A team (South Florida, Dartmouth, Ball State, Wisconsin) or a Pool C team (UNLV, Rhode Island, Kent State, Long Island).
Princeton's first game will be Friday at 10 a.m. against the Terriers from Boston University. The Tigers will immediately follow that with a game against Indiana. Saturday, Princeton will face Buffalo at 10 a.m. with the first bracket play game coming at 6 p.m. Sunday, Princeton will play at either 9 or 11 a.m. and possibly at 1:30 p.m. as well with a win in Sunday's first game.
The series: Princeton has never faced the Bulls from Buffalo, of the Mid-American Conference, and have met the Hoosiers from Indiana only once, a loss in 1995. Princeton's history with Boston University is more substantial, with the Tigers winning two meetings in the 1996 NCAA Regional and one at the Buzz Classic in Georgia in 2003 before splitting doubleheaders in 2004 and 2005 for a 5-2 all-time series record.
Last week: Princeton went 3-2 at the Maryland Invitational with both losses coming to Louisville. In the final scheduled game last Saturday, Princeton beat host Maryland to earn a berth in the tournament final and another shot at the Cardinals, but Louisville prevailed 5-1.
Hey Abbott: Freshman third baseman Collette Abbott was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week in the league's first award of the season. It accounted for Princeton's first two weekends of games, in which Abbott hit .480 and started eight contests with hits in seven of them. In one of her four multi-hit games, against Rhode Island Mar. 3, she went 3 for 3 with three RBIs, a home run and a double. She is tied for second on the team with six RBIs.
Frosh power: Five of Princeton's six home runs this year have been hit by freshmen. Jamie Lettire cracked two in the same game against Rhode Island Mar. 10, while Kelsey Quist has two and Collette Abbott has one.
Un-Quist-ionably good: Rookie Kelsey Quist is hitting .440 this season. In the last three games, she has gone 5 for 8 with five RBI, five runs scored and two home runs.
On Boston University: With a pair of games against Buffalo still to play Wednesday before the weekend tournament starts, the Terriers are 9-5 and boast five starters above .300 at the plate. Sophomore Christy Leath and senior Chiya Louie are both at .385, while Louie leads the team in home runs, with four. The pitching staff has a 3.93 ERA, with sophomore righthander Cassidi Hardy (5-4, 3.13) as the team's top pitcher.
On Indiana: The Hoosiers (8-9) are also on spring break this week, like the Terriers, and have two games Wednesday before Friday's tournament begins. Junior Jennilee Huddleston is the team's only hitter above .300 at .367, but junior Tory Yamaguchi has knocked in four of the team's 10 home runs. Sophomore Monica Wright has thrown 88 of the team's 115 innings and has a 3.02 ERA.
On Buffalo: The Bulls have struggled to a 1-15 start heading into their games with Boston University Wednesday. Sophomore Erin Zilka is the team's top starting hitter with a .317 average and two of the Bulls' four home runs. The pitching staff has an 8.15 ERA, with rookie righthander Sharon Barr (0-6, 6.58) as the most used pitcher, throwing 55 of 91 innings.
Looking ahead: Princeton will have Monday off before taking on Stetson, South Florida and Florida in three days of doubleheaders. The Tigers will conclude their spring break in DeLand, Fla., in Stetson's five-game tournament.