Trip to Spring Games in Florida Set to Open Season for Princeton Softball Team

Five games this weekend in Florida will open the 2022 season for the Princeton softball team as the Tigers get set to face Siena, Rutgers, Iowa, Notre Dame and North Florida at the Spring Games in Leesburg, Fla.

Video for all games will be available via FloSoftball here. Live stats links will be added as available on the schedule page.

Princeton's schedule for the weekend:
Friday vs. Siena, 1:30 p.m.
Friday vs. Rutgers, 4 p.m.
Saturday vs. Iowa, 11 a.m.
Saturday vs. Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m.
Sunday vs. North Florida, 11:30 a.m.

The games will take place at the Sleepy Hollow Softball Complex in Leesburg, northwest of Orlando. They will be Princeton's first games since last spring's abbreviated season after the Tigers were cleared for local competition and played a single game at Villanova and hosted Drexel for two. As with the rest of the nation, the 2020 season was cut short in early March.

From last spring, Princeton returns the players who accounted for 10 of the team's 13 hits over the three games, led by junior Serena Starks, who went 3 for 9. Both pitchers who saw time last spring, junior Alexis Laudenslager (2.86 ERA, 7.1 IP) and sophomore Molly Chambers (2.21 ERA, 12.2 IP), are back as well.

Siena (0-0) will be starting its season this weekend as well after going 19-15 last season and falling to Fairfield in a doubleheader to open the MAAC tournament. Siena returns two of its four pitchers from last season, including Allison Speshyock (2.95 ERA, 8-3 W-L), and Nicole Patille (2.95 ERA, 2-4 W-L). Antonia Alba (.316) is the team's top returning hitter by average from last season. Princeton and Siena have met just once, in a 2011 game at UMBC that Siena won 2-0.

Rutgers (7-3) has traveled each of the last two weekends, playing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and then Greenville, N.C. The Scarlet Knights are hitting .286 as a team this season, led by Payton Lincavage (10-25, .400), and Jaden Vicker (2.48, 4-0) and Ashley Hitchcock (4.39, 2-3) have seen most of the innings in the circle. Princeton holds a 31-24 all-time series lead against its nearby opponent. The teams last met in 2015, with Rutgers winning that one 6-2 in Piscataway. Princeton won the year before at home, 5-3.

Iowa (6-3) will be making its second trip of the season to Leesburg after opening its season there and heading to a San Diego, Calif., tournament the following week. Iowa is hitting .295 as a team with Nia Carter leading the way at .500 (13-26). Denali Loecker (1.50, 3-0) and Breanna Vasquez (3.92, 3-2) have seen most of the innings in the circle. Princeton and Iowa have met just once, a 10-2 Princeton win in 2015 at UCF.

Notre Dame (7-3) is the second team out of the NFCA top 25 and is also already two weekends into its season, having played in events in Charlotte, N.C. and Clearwater, Fla. The Irish are hitting .263 as a team with Abby Sweet (.464, 13-28) leading the way. Payton Tidd (2.85, 2-1), Alexis Holloway (4.27, 2-1) and Shannon Becker (1.40, 3-1) have split the innings in the circle. Princeton and Notre Dame have met three times, all between 1996 and 2004, with the Irish winning all three.

North Florida (8-2) has played each of its first 10 games at home this season and is set to play elsewhere for the first time this season on Wednesday, heading to the University of Florida. The Ospreys are hitting .270 as a team with Shannon Glover (.355, 11-31) and Paige Pfent (.355, 11-31) co-leading the way. Erin Kyle (1.85, 3-1), Morgan Clausen (1.21, 2-1) and Halle Arends (0.00, 3-0) have split most of the innings in the circle. North Florida holds a 4-1 lead in the series with Princeton, with all games played between 2013 and 2019. UNF won the last meeting 9-1 in Clearwater, Fla., in 2019, in what was the teams' first meeting since 2015.

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