Tuesday, April 25
Villanova, Pa.
2:00 PM
Princeton University
at
Villanova
Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast
Softball Team to Visit Villanova Tuesday for Non-League Pair
April 24, 2023 | Softball
In its final non-league regular-season road games of the spring, the Princeton softball team will head to Villanova for a 2 p.m. pair on Tuesday.
at Villanova, Tuesday, 2 p.m.Â
FloSoftball Video:Â Game 1 | Game 2Â
Live stats: Game 1 | Game 2
The Tigers enter the non-league pair on the with a chance to clinch an Ivy League and hosting duties for the Ivy League Tournament, but that will have to wait for the weekend series at Dartmouth. Princeton stands 21-16 overall and 14-4 in the Ivy, one game up on 13-5 Harvard and with the tiebreaker in hand from winning last weekend's best-of-three series.
Princeton is 23-15-1 all-time against Villanova and has faced the Wildcats once in each of the last two seasons, taking a 3-2 defeat in the first of just three games in a pandemic-limited 2021 season before winning 6-5 last year in Princeton. Prior to 2021, Princeton's last game at Villanova was in 2008, when the Tigers swept a doubleheader. In between 2008 and 2021, the teams met just twice, a 2-1 Princeton win at Maryland in 2011 and a 4-1 Princeton win at home in 2013.
The Wildcats enter Tuesday's games at 29-18 overall and 13-5 in the Big East, standing third of the nine teams in the conference. UConn (18-3) has a 2.5-game lead on the Wildcats and a 1.5-game lead on second-place Seton Hall. Villanova has two more weekends before the Big East Tournament, visiting Seton Hall and hosting Providence, before going to UConn for the conference event May 11-13.
May 11-13 are the same dates for the Ivy League Tournament, which will be held at the field of the top-seeded team. That team will be Princeton if the Tigers can get either two wins at Dartmouth this weekend, two Harvard losses at home against Columbia, or a win and a Harvard loss over the teams' respective three-game series this weekend.
Entering last weekend, Princeton's top-50 NCAA statistical rankings included the team's 42nd-best 1.44 doubles per game, Meghan Harrington's 16th-best four saves, Alexis Laudenslager's 22nd-best 9.7 Ks-per-seven, catcher Ashley McDonald's 23rd-best 11 runners caught stealing, Allison Ha's 27th-best 24.8 at-bats between strikeouts, and Laudenslager's 42nd-best 134 strikeouts.
Serena Starks leads the team with a .406 batting average, raising that from .361 with a seven-game stretch that has seen her hit .536, going 15 of 28. If Starks finished the season at .400 or better, she'd be just the second Tiger in nearly 20 years to finish the season there, with Marissa Reynolds '17 at .436 in 2017 after Melissa Finley '05 hit .414 in 2003. Adrienne Chang (.336) and Allison Ha (.309) give the Tigers three batters hitting better than .300 on the season. Laudenslager (12-8, 2.06 ERA) has thrown 109 of the team's 247 1/3 innings this season, while Brielle Wright (3-5, 4.25) has thrown 51, Molly Chambers (5-2, 3.29) has thrown 49, and Meghan Harrington (1-1, 3.47) has thrown 38 1/3.
Laudenslager's K total is up to 145, a career high for the senior and the 16th-highest total in a season in program history. Eleven more Ks would give her 156, which would be the most since Kristen Schaus '08 had 189 in 2008. Laudenslager's 318 career strikeouts stand seventh in program history with Karen Drill '94 sixth at 384. Laudenslager, a five-time Ivy Pitcher of the Week this season, has thrown three no-hitters this year, a program record for a season, and is the first pitcher in program history to throw five solo no-hitters.Â
Entering last weekend, Villanova's 67 doubles ranked 13th, the team's 1.52 doubles per game ranked 27th, and the team's 2.98 strikeouts per walk allowed was 29th. Individually, Kat Gallant ranked 11th with 0.80 walks allowed per saven and 18th with a 6.64 strikeout to walk ratio. Caroline Pellicano was 16th with four saves. Kelsey White was 21st with just two hit batters, and 36th with 1.18 walks per seven, and Tess Cites was 29th with 54 hits. Cites (.371) and Ally Jones (.346) are hitting above .300, and the team has used five arms this season, led by Gallant (13-4, 2.11, 106 IP), White (8-5, 3.85, 76 1/3) and Peyton Schnackenberg (5-9, 4.12, 74 2/3) with Pellicano (3-0, 2.33, 33) and Alyssa Seidler (0-0, 2.92, 12) also seeing time in the circle.
at Villanova, Tuesday, 2 p.m.Â
FloSoftball Video:Â Game 1 | Game 2Â
Live stats: Game 1 | Game 2
The Tigers enter the non-league pair on the with a chance to clinch an Ivy League and hosting duties for the Ivy League Tournament, but that will have to wait for the weekend series at Dartmouth. Princeton stands 21-16 overall and 14-4 in the Ivy, one game up on 13-5 Harvard and with the tiebreaker in hand from winning last weekend's best-of-three series.
Princeton is 23-15-1 all-time against Villanova and has faced the Wildcats once in each of the last two seasons, taking a 3-2 defeat in the first of just three games in a pandemic-limited 2021 season before winning 6-5 last year in Princeton. Prior to 2021, Princeton's last game at Villanova was in 2008, when the Tigers swept a doubleheader. In between 2008 and 2021, the teams met just twice, a 2-1 Princeton win at Maryland in 2011 and a 4-1 Princeton win at home in 2013.
The Wildcats enter Tuesday's games at 29-18 overall and 13-5 in the Big East, standing third of the nine teams in the conference. UConn (18-3) has a 2.5-game lead on the Wildcats and a 1.5-game lead on second-place Seton Hall. Villanova has two more weekends before the Big East Tournament, visiting Seton Hall and hosting Providence, before going to UConn for the conference event May 11-13.
May 11-13 are the same dates for the Ivy League Tournament, which will be held at the field of the top-seeded team. That team will be Princeton if the Tigers can get either two wins at Dartmouth this weekend, two Harvard losses at home against Columbia, or a win and a Harvard loss over the teams' respective three-game series this weekend.
Entering last weekend, Princeton's top-50 NCAA statistical rankings included the team's 42nd-best 1.44 doubles per game, Meghan Harrington's 16th-best four saves, Alexis Laudenslager's 22nd-best 9.7 Ks-per-seven, catcher Ashley McDonald's 23rd-best 11 runners caught stealing, Allison Ha's 27th-best 24.8 at-bats between strikeouts, and Laudenslager's 42nd-best 134 strikeouts.
Serena Starks leads the team with a .406 batting average, raising that from .361 with a seven-game stretch that has seen her hit .536, going 15 of 28. If Starks finished the season at .400 or better, she'd be just the second Tiger in nearly 20 years to finish the season there, with Marissa Reynolds '17 at .436 in 2017 after Melissa Finley '05 hit .414 in 2003. Adrienne Chang (.336) and Allison Ha (.309) give the Tigers three batters hitting better than .300 on the season. Laudenslager (12-8, 2.06 ERA) has thrown 109 of the team's 247 1/3 innings this season, while Brielle Wright (3-5, 4.25) has thrown 51, Molly Chambers (5-2, 3.29) has thrown 49, and Meghan Harrington (1-1, 3.47) has thrown 38 1/3.
Laudenslager's K total is up to 145, a career high for the senior and the 16th-highest total in a season in program history. Eleven more Ks would give her 156, which would be the most since Kristen Schaus '08 had 189 in 2008. Laudenslager's 318 career strikeouts stand seventh in program history with Karen Drill '94 sixth at 384. Laudenslager, a five-time Ivy Pitcher of the Week this season, has thrown three no-hitters this year, a program record for a season, and is the first pitcher in program history to throw five solo no-hitters.Â
Entering last weekend, Villanova's 67 doubles ranked 13th, the team's 1.52 doubles per game ranked 27th, and the team's 2.98 strikeouts per walk allowed was 29th. Individually, Kat Gallant ranked 11th with 0.80 walks allowed per saven and 18th with a 6.64 strikeout to walk ratio. Caroline Pellicano was 16th with four saves. Kelsey White was 21st with just two hit batters, and 36th with 1.18 walks per seven, and Tess Cites was 29th with 54 hits. Cites (.371) and Ally Jones (.346) are hitting above .300, and the team has used five arms this season, led by Gallant (13-4, 2.11, 106 IP), White (8-5, 3.85, 76 1/3) and Peyton Schnackenberg (5-9, 4.12, 74 2/3) with Pellicano (3-0, 2.33, 33) and Alyssa Seidler (0-0, 2.92, 12) also seeing time in the circle.
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