Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Softball to Start Season Friday at Florida Atlantic
February 17, 2015 | Softball
In the video above, junior Emily Viggers and sophomore Marissa Reynolds talk about starting the season, their work as Princeton engineering majors, and their choice to come to Princeton
The 2015 season will get underway Friday for the Princeton softball team with the first two of five games at Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton.
Princeton will start against fellow snowbird Albany at 2:30 p.m. Friday followed by host Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m. Friday. The day will be complete much earlier Saturday for the Tigers, who'll face Florida A&M at 10 a.m. with a game against North Florida right after. Sunday, Princeton will face North Florida again at 9 a.m. before heading back to New Jersey.
Florida Atlantic Tournament Page
| Opponent |  Albany |
 Florida Atlantic |
 Florida A&M |
 North Florida |
| Game Date/Time | Friday, 2:30 p.m. | Friday, 7 p.m. | Saturday, 10 a.m. | Saturday, 12:15 p.m. & Sunday, 9 a.m. |
| 2015 Record | 0-0 | 9-1 | 0-6* vs. UNF 2/18 |
7-2 |
| All-Time Record vs. Princeton | First Meeting | FAU leads 2-1 | FAMU leads 3-0 | UNF leads 2-0 |
| Last Meeting vs. Princeton | First Meeting | 1999 (3-2 Princeton win at FAU) | 2000 (4-1 FAMU win at FAMU) | 2013 (9-1 UNF win at UNF) |
| Opponent Note | Won the America East title last season and won a game in the NCAA tournament, against Utah Valley | Takes an eight-game win streak into the weekend with Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Penn State, Michigan State, Providence and Maryland among the wins | Opened season by hanging close with then-No. 6 Kentucky, losing 4-2 | Started the season on a seven-game winning streak |
Princeton returns eight of the nine field players who started at least 30 games a season ago and returns all 287 innings in the circle. Here is a positional breakdown of where the Tigers stand entering the 2015 season:
PITCHING
Sophomore Erica Nori led the team in wins last year as a freshman at 9-6 with a 2.29 ERA and junior Shanna Christian, an honorable mention All-Ivy last season, was 6-12 with a team-high 103 innings. Sophomore Claire Klausner and senior Meredith Brown also return, with the pair combining for 96 innings of work. Rookie and New Jersey native Ashley LaGuardia joins the staff this season.
CATCHING
Though the Tigers graduated Maddie Cousens '14, the only Tiger with at least 30 starts a season ago not back this year, senior Cara Worden, junior Skye Jerpbak and sophomore Kelsey Smith all saw time behind the plate last season. Worden had the best batting average of the returning group at .248 and was an honorable mention All-Ivy as a designated player in 2012.
FIRST BASE
Worden, juniors Kayla Bose and Emily Viggers and senior Libby Crowe all saw time at first base last season. Viggers hit .250 last season, fourth best on the team.
SECOND BASE
Sophomore Haley Hineman, an honorable mention All-Ivy at second base last season, led the team with a .307 average last season and led the team with 42 games played. Kate Miller and Klausner also saw time at second base in 2014.
SHORTSTOP
Schmidt and Tory Roberts '14 all saw time at shortstop last season. Schmidt was the only one in that group to start at least 30 games, hitting .248, the third-best average on the team. Schmidt was a second-team All-Ivy honoree in 2013 at the position. Rookie Danielle Dockx joins the club as a middle infielder and Hineman will see time there as well this season.
THIRD BASE
Just as at shortstop, Schmidt, Roberts, Bose and senior Sarah McGowan all also saw time at the hot corner last year. Aside from Schmidt, who started 38 of the 39 games in which she played overall last season, Roberts had the second-most starts in the group, getting 21 starts in 26 games.
OUTFIELD
Six Tigers, including Cousens, senior Rachel Rendina, junior Danielle Allen, sophomore Marissa Reynolds, Smith and Miller all played in the outfield last season, with Rendina's .262 average leading the group of returners. Freshman Kylee Pierce joins the outfielders this season.
DESIGNATED PLAYER
Eleven Tigers saw time as the designated player last season, all of whom also played in the field. Viggers, who hit .250 with 29 starts in 30 appearances overall, had the highest batting average among the 11 players who were the DP last season.