Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Softball Team Returns to Maryland for Season's Second Weekend
March 08, 2012 | Softball
The Princeton softball team will head to College Park, Md., for five games at the Maryland Round Robin this weekend.
The Tournament Central page, with links to live stats for all games, is here.
It will be Princeton's second tournament in as many weekends this season in Maryland, as the Tigers went 1-3 at a UMBC-hosted event last weekend to start the new campaign.
This weekend will put the Tigers against Kent State, Rhode Island and the host Terrapins. It will be Princeton's fifth trip to a Maryland-hosted event after playing in them in 2000, 2007, 2010 and 2011.
Princeton's seniors have started hot at the plate, with Kelsey VandeBergh hitting .462 and Nicole Ontiveros at .385. The trio of Tiger pitchers are led in ERA by freshman Meredith Brown at 1.75 and in innings by junior Alex Peyton, who had Princeton's win last weekend.
Princeton will start against Kent State (6-9) at 10 a.m. Friday. The Golden Flashes' strength is at the plate, where the team averages five runs per game and has three hitters batting above .350 while carrying a staff ERA of 4.03.
Friday's and Saturday's second games will each be against Maryland (11-7), and both at 3 p.m. The Terrapins hit .237 as a team and have a staff ERA of 5.77. Saturday's and Sunday's morning games will be against Rhode Island at 10 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. The Rams (3-7) are hitting .277, with senior Courtney Prendergast hitting .485 as one of the top hitters in the Atlantic 10, and with a staff ERA of 4.77.
Princeton has an all-time record of 6-8-1 against the Terrapins with Maryland having won the three meetings that occurred with any of the current players, in 2010 and 2011. The Tigers are 7-0 all-time against Rhode Island, having last played the Rams in 2007 in Maryland. Princeton is 1-2 against Kent State, having last met the Flashes in 2007.
The tournament is Princeton's last before the spring break trip to California.