Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Busy Softball Schedule to Continue with Villanova at '95 Field Thursday Afternoon
April 19, 2007 | Softball
PRINCETON, N.J. ? Weather permitting, the span of eight games in five days will continue Thursday for the Princeton softball team as the Tigers host Villanova for a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Class of 1895 Field.
Records: Princeton 18-23, 8-4 Ivy; Villanova 17-19-1, 1-7 Big East
Head Coaches: Princeton ? Maureen Barron (seventh season, Princeton '97); Villanova ? Maria DiBernardi (23rd season, Immaculata '85)
Field: Class of 1895 Field, Princeton
All-Time Series: Princeton leads 18-12-1
Last Season: Princeton swept a doubleheader at Villanova
Last Time at 1895 Field: Villanova swept a doubleheader in 2005
Forecast: Low 50s, cloudy
Busy time for the Tigers: Because of the postponement of last Sunday's Columbia doubleheader to Wednesday, Princeton will be playing four doubleheaders in five days from Wednesday through Sunday. Three of those will take place at Class of 1895 Field, with Penn visiting Saturday and Sunday.
Last time around: Princeton squeaked out a 1-0 win in the opening game of a doubleheader against Villanova last season on a home run by Philadelphia-area native Kathryn Welch and followed it up with a run-rule 9-1 win in the nightcap.
More on the series: Princeton and Villanova have played a doubleheader every year since 1998. Last year's sweep was the first by Princeton in that span. Earlier, the teams met every year from 1984-92, excluding 1987, with Princeton sweeping four of the five twinbills played.
Around the Ivy League: Princeton's split with Columbia and Penn's sweep of Cornell Wednesday moved Penn into first place alone in the Ivy South, two games ahead of both Princeton and Cornell, while Columbia was eliminated at five games back.
| Team | Record | Games Back | Ivy Games Remaining |
| Penn | 12-4 | -- | 4 |
| Princeton | 8-4 | 2 | 8 |
| Cornell | 8-4 | 2 | 8 |
| Columbia | 7-9 | 5 | 4 |
Princeton will need to take at least two of four games from Penn to stay alive in the Ivy South race, while three wins would potentially put Princeton in first place, depending on how Cornell does as it hosts Columbia.
In the north division, Harvard stands one game ahead of Dartmouth and two ahead of Yale, while Brown is six back. Dartmouth will host Yale in a key series this weekend, while Harvard will host Brown as the Crimson try to hold on to their lead.
Thanks, coach: Princeton head coach Maureen Barron could see another of her prot?g?s pass her career strikeout total this weekend after Erin Snyder '06 did so last season. Junior Kristen Schaus has 582 career strikeouts, needing 15 to pass Barron's total of 596. Snyder holds the record at 819 with Barron in second place and Schaus third.
Streaking at the plate: Erin Miller has enjoyed a solid sophomore season, with two game-winning RBIs in the last five games. She is currently on a six-game hit streak, just short of the season-best efforts of Kathryn Welch and Brianna Moreno, each of whom has hit in seven straight games during the season.
Fresh out of the park, again: With Jamie Lettire's first-game home run against Columbia, nine of Princeton's 18 home runs on the year have been hit by freshmen. Senior Calli Jo Varner leads the team with six, but Lettire has four, Kelsey Quist has three and Collette Abbott has two. Sophomores Samantha O'Hara (two) and Kathryn Welch (one) have accounted for the others.
More Welch: As one of three Tigers over .300, Kathryn Welch leads Princeton with 27 RBIs, ahead of Jamie Lettire's second-highest total of 15. Her average (.314), hits (33), runs (12) and doubles (eight) all rank in the top three on the team.
Speedy singles: Fellow sophomore Brianna Moreno has a team-best 40 hits this year and leads the team with a .336 batting average.
Villanova at the plate: Three Wildcats are over .300 with all three well over that standard. Junior Jessica Curtis is hitting .396 (44 of 111), while senior Sheri Donley has a team-best five home runs to go with her .379 average (39 of 103). Senior Cassie Koenig is .339 (42 of 124) with four home runs.
Villanova in the circle: Sophomore Laura Determan and junior Kat Walsh, who pitched in the Princeton doubleheader last year, return as Villanova's most used arms. Determan is 10-9 with a 2.62 ERA and 155 strikeouts, a Ks-per-seven rate of 8.8. Kat Walsh is 4-4 with a 2.67 ERA in 70 2/3 innings, while junior Nicci Ward has nine decisions at 3-6 in 44 2/3 frames.
To the weekend: Both Penn-Princeton doubleheaders at 1895 Field will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The weather is expected to be pleasant as well, with sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s.