Saturday, April 8
Princeton, N.J.
12:30 PM
Princeton University
vs
Columbia
Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast
Softball Team Returns to Ivy Play This Weekend as Columbia Visits
April 06, 2023 | Softball
Two of the top three teams in the Ivy League standings will meet at Princeton Softball Stadium at Strubing Field Saturday and Sunday as Columbia visits to take on the Princeton softball team in a three-game series.
vs. Columbia, Saturday, 12:30 p.m. DH | ESPN+ Game 1 | ESPN+ Game 2 | Int'l Video | Live Stats | Game Program | Mental Health Awareness Day
vs. Columbia, Sunday, 12:30 p.m. | ESPN+ |Â Int'l Video | Live Stats | Game Program
Princeton and Harvard are tied atop the league at 7-2 with Columbia a game back at 6-3 as the only teams above .500 in Ivy play. Cornell and Dartmouth, each a week behind the rest of the league, are 3-3. With the new Ivy League Tournament this year, the top four teams will play at the site of the top seed, so Princeton, Harvard and Columbia would be in the tournament with either Cornell or Dartmouth also in. Princeton will go to Cornell next weekend before hosting Harvard the following weekend.
Princeton leads the all-time series with Columbia 46-19 and swept last season's series in New York. Columbia took two of the three in the teams' previous series to 2022, in 2019 in Princeton.
Princeton has several players ranked in the top 50 in the nation in statistical categories. Meghan Harrington's four saves have her seventh nationally, while catcher Ashley McDonald's 10 runners caught stealing have her 15th, and Alexis Laudenslager's 9.6 Ks per seven have her 27th and her 104 strikeouts have her 44th. Laudenslager earned her fourth Ivy League PItcher of the Week honor of the season after last weekend.
Columbia ranks eighth in the nation at 1.72 doubles per game, paced by Jaden Hill and Cami Neal's 27th-best 0.36 doubles per game apiece. Neal is the 28th-toughest player to strike out in the nation, with a K every 25.7 at-bats, and Maddie Souza is 37th at 0.20 sac bunts per game.
Serena Starks, who had a four-hit game Wednesday against Lehigh, leads Princeton with a .380 average, and Adrienne Chang is also above .300 at .353. Laudenslager (6-8) has a team-best 2.14 ERA in a team-high 75 2/3 innings, while all four arms on the staff have thrown at least 26 1/3 innings in Brielle Wright (3-3, 3.37 ERA, 43 2/3 IP), Molly Chambers (4-2, 3.43, 34 2/3 IP), and Meghan Harrington (0-1, 3.19, 26 1/3 IP).
For Columbia, Jaden Hill (.341), Neal (.325), Megan Ryono (.316) and Bubba Gleaves (.301) are all hitting above .300, and Jordan Hill (5-8, 5.03, 80 2/3 IP) and Raquel Reyes (4-4, 5.69, 60 1/3 IP) have combined to throw all but 24 2/3 of the team's 165 2/3 innings.
vs. Columbia, Saturday, 12:30 p.m. DH | ESPN+ Game 1 | ESPN+ Game 2 | Int'l Video | Live Stats | Game Program | Mental Health Awareness Day
vs. Columbia, Sunday, 12:30 p.m. | ESPN+ |Â Int'l Video | Live Stats | Game Program
Princeton and Harvard are tied atop the league at 7-2 with Columbia a game back at 6-3 as the only teams above .500 in Ivy play. Cornell and Dartmouth, each a week behind the rest of the league, are 3-3. With the new Ivy League Tournament this year, the top four teams will play at the site of the top seed, so Princeton, Harvard and Columbia would be in the tournament with either Cornell or Dartmouth also in. Princeton will go to Cornell next weekend before hosting Harvard the following weekend.
Princeton leads the all-time series with Columbia 46-19 and swept last season's series in New York. Columbia took two of the three in the teams' previous series to 2022, in 2019 in Princeton.
Princeton has several players ranked in the top 50 in the nation in statistical categories. Meghan Harrington's four saves have her seventh nationally, while catcher Ashley McDonald's 10 runners caught stealing have her 15th, and Alexis Laudenslager's 9.6 Ks per seven have her 27th and her 104 strikeouts have her 44th. Laudenslager earned her fourth Ivy League PItcher of the Week honor of the season after last weekend.
Columbia ranks eighth in the nation at 1.72 doubles per game, paced by Jaden Hill and Cami Neal's 27th-best 0.36 doubles per game apiece. Neal is the 28th-toughest player to strike out in the nation, with a K every 25.7 at-bats, and Maddie Souza is 37th at 0.20 sac bunts per game.
Serena Starks, who had a four-hit game Wednesday against Lehigh, leads Princeton with a .380 average, and Adrienne Chang is also above .300 at .353. Laudenslager (6-8) has a team-best 2.14 ERA in a team-high 75 2/3 innings, while all four arms on the staff have thrown at least 26 1/3 innings in Brielle Wright (3-3, 3.37 ERA, 43 2/3 IP), Molly Chambers (4-2, 3.43, 34 2/3 IP), and Meghan Harrington (0-1, 3.19, 26 1/3 IP).
For Columbia, Jaden Hill (.341), Neal (.325), Megan Ryono (.316) and Bubba Gleaves (.301) are all hitting above .300, and Jordan Hill (5-8, 5.03, 80 2/3 IP) and Raquel Reyes (4-4, 5.69, 60 1/3 IP) have combined to throw all but 24 2/3 of the team's 165 2/3 innings.
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/ SoftballReflections from the Princeton Athletics Class of 2025
Tuesday, May 27
Softball Highlights vs. Columbia & Brown, Ivy League Tournament, 5-10-25
Saturday, May 10
Softball Highlights vs. Harvard, Ivy League Tournament, 5-9-25
Friday, May 09
Beyond The Stripes -- Princeton Softball's Legacy Of #2
Thursday, May 08