Princeton University Athletics
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Softball Tigers to Take on Trio of Florida Teams in Midweek Doubleheaders
March 20, 2007 | Softball
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Princeton softball team (7-7) will embark Tuesday on a challenging three-day stretch of doubleheaders during their spring break trip in Florida, traveling to Stetson, South Florida and the University of Florida.
Princeton went 2-3 in its first weekend in Florida at South Florida's Speedline Invitational and had its lone day off Monday heading into 11 games in six days to close the week. The Tigers will head northeast to face Stetson for two Tuesday at 6 p.m., come back to Tampa to play two against South Florida at 4 p.m. Wednesday and travel north again to Gainesville for two at Florida Thursday at 5 p.m.
Team Notes
The speedster: Sophomore outfielder Brianna Moreno is hitting .361 this season with hits in four of the five games at the USF tournament. She had a sacrifice hit in each of the last four games. She is also errorless in the outfield with nine putouts and one assist.
Good at the plate, good in the circle: Rookie Jamie Lettire has had a hit in each of the last four games with an RBI in each of the last two. Following three relief appearances in the Maryland tournament earlier this month, Lettire made her first career start against Buffalo and struck out 11 in the win.
Coming through in a pinch: Sophomore Erin Miller has had three plate appearances this season and has had hits in all three, including an RBI in the win over Buffalo.
More than one K in Kristen: Junior pitcher Kristen Schaus has made 11 appearances this year, totaling 54 innings. In that time, she has fanned 65 batters with a high of 12 in the season opener against Liberty.
Strengthening Steel: Senior outfielder Stephanie Steel has had six hits in the last four games, including going 2 for 2 with two walks against Florida International. During that span, she has bumped her average up 78 points to .310.
The series: Princeton has never faced Stetson or Florida and, after missing USF in its invitational last weekend, the Tigers haven't played the Bulls since 1999. Princeton went 1-2 in games with USF from 1994 to 1999.
On Stetson: Princeton will travel to DeLand, Fla., to face the 18-7 Hatters for a twinbill Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Hatters are impressive both on offense and in the circle, with the team hitting .280 and the pitching staff earning only a 2.33 ERA. Last year, Stetson was one win from joining Princeton in the NCAA tournament, falling in the Atlantic Sun final to Florida Atlantic.
Sophomore Andrea Migliori and senior Sherrel Fountain are hitting .375 and .377, respectively, with Migliori blasting eight of the team's 10 home runs, leading to a team-best 19 RBIs. Three pitchers have split all but four of Stetson's 159 2/3 innings with Heather Colding as the most-used arm. Colding is 6-4 with a 2.06 ERA.
On South Florida: Like Stetson, the Bulls have logged plenty of games already this year, taking a 24-14 record into a Tuesday doubleheader with Rhode Island. Last year, South Florida advanced to the NCAA super regional, winning a regional hosted by Florida. The team is hitting .281 while juggling its lineup as no player has started or played in all 36 games. Junior Kit Dunbar has the highest average of the usual starters at .413, while five other players have more than 10 RBIs.
South Florida is even more impressive in the circle. While USF's opponents have a 2.90 ERA against the Bulls, South Florida's staff allows only 1.15 earned runs per game. Cristi Ecks is the team's top pitcher, carring an 8-4 record despite posting only an 0.45 ERA in 77.1 innings with 97 strikeouts. Kristen Gordon is 8-3 with a 1.00 ERA, striking out 108 batters in 77.1 innings.
On Florida: The Gators (20-14) are ranked No. 19 in the nation in the March 14 NFCA coaches' poll with a new one out before Florida and Princeton meet up. In this week's ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, however, the Gators dropped out of the top 25 after getting swept by LSU. Florida ended top-ranked Tennessee's undefeated season two weekends ago in the first weekend of SEC play after 23 wins. The Gators will play two with Florida International Wednesday.
The Gators are hitting .223 as a team with sophomore Kim Waleszonia at .342. Eight players have split Florida's 15 home runs and three players have more than 10 RBI with sophomore Ali Gardiner's 17 as a team best. The pitching staff has a 1.72 ERA with sophomore Stacey Nelson as the top arm at 12-7 with a 1.27 ERA in 132 2/3 innings.
Looking ahead: Princeton will head back to Stetson for a three-day tournament Friday through Sunday that will feature two games each against Kent State and Lipscomb and one more against Stetson before heading back north.