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Ivy South Play Begins for Princeton Softball This Weekend at Columbia
April 12, 2007 | Softball
PRINCETON, N.J. – For the first time under the Ivy League's new divisional format, the Princeton softball team will face a league foe four times in one weekend each of the next three Saturdays and Sundays, beginning with a trip to Manhattan this weekend to face Columbia.
Records: Princeton – 16-21, 6-2 Ivy; Columbia: 15-17, 5-7
Head Coaches: Princeton – Maureen Barron (seventh season, Princeton '97); Columbia – Kayla Noonan (fifth season, Hofstra '98)
Field: Baker Field Softball Complex
All-Time Series: Princeton leads 9-3
Last season: Princeton swept a doubleheader at home
Forecast: Saturday – Low 50s, cloudy; Sunday – Low 40s, chance of rain
Short history: Columbia became a Division I softball program in 2000 and became part of the Ivy League in the sport in 2001. The Tigers have faced the Lions in a doubleheader every year since then, sweeping Columbia in 2001, 2002 and 2006. The teams split doubleheaders from 2003-05. Princeton had not faced Columbia before it joined the Ivy League.
Good to see you again… and again…: This weekend will be the first time in the program's 26-season history that the Tigers will face one of their Ivy League opponents four times in the same season. Princeton has taken on an Ivy team three times in one season only once, in 1984. After playing Yale in a regular-season doubleheader, Princeton then took on the Bulldogs in the Ivy League Tournament, which at the time were the only games that counted toward deciding the league champion.
Ivy Softball 101: Reviewing the new Ivy regular-season format, the league was divided into the Ivy North and Ivy South, identical to the Ivy baseball alignment. Princeton will play Cornell, Columbia and Penn four times. The South team with the most wins of the whole 20-game season, including the recently completed eight games against the North teams, will face the North winner in a best-of-three series May 5-6 to determine the Ivy champion and NCAA representative.
Don't make dinner reservations: Last time Princeton visited Columbia in 2005, the teams squeezed 24 innings out of the Manhattan daylight. In the opener, Princeton prevailed 1-0 in 10 frames. If that weren't tense enough, the teams battled for 14 innings in the nightcap before Columbia won, also 1-0.
Give a little here, give a little there: Rookie Jamie Lettire had her first multi-hit game in the nightcap against Lehigh Wednesday, going 2 for 3 with a double. She also picked up the win in the circle in that game, improving her record to 7-4 while winning her last five decisions.
Coming up big: Erin Miller's second career RBI was a big one. The sophomore's sixth-inning double broke a 2-2 tie and drove home the eventual winning run in the second game against Lehigh Wednesday.
.300 hitter: Brianna Moreno is one of two Tigers this year to have started all 37 games. She has also built on her .284 average from her freshman season a year ago, hitting over .300 all season with a current average of .311. Moreno has hits in 25 of 37 games.
104 and counting: Junior pitcher Kristen Schaus has struck out 104 batters this year and stands at 565 for her career. This weekend, she'll be looking to move closer to second place on the all-time Princeton list, held by her coach, Maureen Barron, at 596.
Getting hot at the right time: Calli Jo Varner carries a six-game hitting streak into the weekend and has five RBI in the last four games, batting at least one runner home in each game. She also has three home runs in the last four games and, with her five home runs on the season, is heading toward her single-season best of seven in 2005.
Keeping it going: Sophomore infielder Kathryn Welch continued the hitting that won her an Ivy League Player of the Week honor a week ago. She has a hit in seven straight games and an RBI in six in a row. Since the second game of the Brown doubleheader March 31, Welch is 14 for 25 (.560) with 11 RBIs. Five of her 14 hits during the stretch have been doubles.
On Columbia: In a statistical coincidence, the Lions are hitting .271 and carry a team ERA of 2.71. The offense is headed by four players hitting over .300 and seven who have started all 32 games. Sophomore lefty Keli Leong leads the team with a .400 average with 42 of the team's 225 hits. Seven players have at least 10 RBIs, and none have more than 12. In the circle, rookies Aimee Kemp and Amanda Snyder have thrown all but six of the team's 209 1/3 innings. Kemp carries a 2.98 ERA and 11-7 record, while Snyder is 4-9 with a 2.32 ERA.
Records: Princeton – 16-21, 6-2 Ivy; Columbia: 15-17, 5-7
Head Coaches: Princeton – Maureen Barron (seventh season, Princeton '97); Columbia – Kayla Noonan (fifth season, Hofstra '98)
Field: Baker Field Softball Complex
All-Time Series: Princeton leads 9-3
Last season: Princeton swept a doubleheader at home
Forecast: Saturday – Low 50s, cloudy; Sunday – Low 40s, chance of rain
Short history: Columbia became a Division I softball program in 2000 and became part of the Ivy League in the sport in 2001. The Tigers have faced the Lions in a doubleheader every year since then, sweeping Columbia in 2001, 2002 and 2006. The teams split doubleheaders from 2003-05. Princeton had not faced Columbia before it joined the Ivy League.
Good to see you again… and again…: This weekend will be the first time in the program's 26-season history that the Tigers will face one of their Ivy League opponents four times in the same season. Princeton has taken on an Ivy team three times in one season only once, in 1984. After playing Yale in a regular-season doubleheader, Princeton then took on the Bulldogs in the Ivy League Tournament, which at the time were the only games that counted toward deciding the league champion.
Ivy Softball 101: Reviewing the new Ivy regular-season format, the league was divided into the Ivy North and Ivy South, identical to the Ivy baseball alignment. Princeton will play Cornell, Columbia and Penn four times. The South team with the most wins of the whole 20-game season, including the recently completed eight games against the North teams, will face the North winner in a best-of-three series May 5-6 to determine the Ivy champion and NCAA representative.
Don't make dinner reservations: Last time Princeton visited Columbia in 2005, the teams squeezed 24 innings out of the Manhattan daylight. In the opener, Princeton prevailed 1-0 in 10 frames. If that weren't tense enough, the teams battled for 14 innings in the nightcap before Columbia won, also 1-0.
Give a little here, give a little there: Rookie Jamie Lettire had her first multi-hit game in the nightcap against Lehigh Wednesday, going 2 for 3 with a double. She also picked up the win in the circle in that game, improving her record to 7-4 while winning her last five decisions.
Coming up big: Erin Miller's second career RBI was a big one. The sophomore's sixth-inning double broke a 2-2 tie and drove home the eventual winning run in the second game against Lehigh Wednesday.
.300 hitter: Brianna Moreno is one of two Tigers this year to have started all 37 games. She has also built on her .284 average from her freshman season a year ago, hitting over .300 all season with a current average of .311. Moreno has hits in 25 of 37 games.
104 and counting: Junior pitcher Kristen Schaus has struck out 104 batters this year and stands at 565 for her career. This weekend, she'll be looking to move closer to second place on the all-time Princeton list, held by her coach, Maureen Barron, at 596.
Getting hot at the right time: Calli Jo Varner carries a six-game hitting streak into the weekend and has five RBI in the last four games, batting at least one runner home in each game. She also has three home runs in the last four games and, with her five home runs on the season, is heading toward her single-season best of seven in 2005.
Keeping it going: Sophomore infielder Kathryn Welch continued the hitting that won her an Ivy League Player of the Week honor a week ago. She has a hit in seven straight games and an RBI in six in a row. Since the second game of the Brown doubleheader March 31, Welch is 14 for 25 (.560) with 11 RBIs. Five of her 14 hits during the stretch have been doubles.
On Columbia: In a statistical coincidence, the Lions are hitting .271 and carry a team ERA of 2.71. The offense is headed by four players hitting over .300 and seven who have started all 32 games. Sophomore lefty Keli Leong leads the team with a .400 average with 42 of the team's 225 hits. Seven players have at least 10 RBIs, and none have more than 12. In the circle, rookies Aimee Kemp and Amanda Snyder have thrown all but six of the team's 209 1/3 innings. Kemp carries a 2.98 ERA and 11-7 record, while Snyder is 4-9 with a 2.32 ERA.
Monday, May 11
Saturday, May 09
Friday, May 08
Thursday, May 07