Softball Team to Host LIU Friday in Finale Before Ivy Tournament

Friday, May 5

Princeton, N.J.

12:30 PM

Princeton University

LIU

Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

Softball Team to Host LIU Friday in Finale Before Ivy Tournament

May 03, 2023 | Softball

In the team's final games before the Ivy League Tournament comes to Princeton Softball Stadium at Strubing Field, the Princeton softball team will host Long Island University for a 12:30 p.m. doubleheader Friday.

vs. LIU, Friday, 12:30 p.m. | ESPN+ Game 1 Game 2 | Int'l Video | Live Stats | Game Program

Princeton holds a 6-1 record all-time against LIU with the last meeting coming in 2017 as Princeton won two games at LIU that season. LIU's last win over Princeton came in 2015 in a game played at UCF.

The Tigers won an Ivy League championship last weekend, finishing atop the Ivy at 16-5 alongside Harvard as Princeton won its 21st Ivy championship and second straight. Princeton won the right to host the Ivy League Tournament, set for May 11-13, by taking two of three from Harvard during the teams' regular-season series. Princeton will open the Ivy Tournament against fourth-seeded Columbia May 11 at noon, followed by second-seeded Harvard against third-seeded Yale.

Princeton stands 24-18 overall on the season and has Serena Starks (.401 BA), Adrienne Chang (.328) and Allison Ha (.315) as its leaders at the plate with Alexis Laudenslager (13-9, 2.44 ERA, 117.2 IP), Molly Chambers (6-2, 3.42, 59.1), Meghan Harrington (1-1, 4.04, 43.1) and Brielle Wright (4-6, 4.67, 60) logging the innings in the circle. Laudenslager has thrown three no-hitters this season, a Princeton record, and has five solo no-hitters in her career, also the most for any pitcher in program history. At 155 strikeouts on the season, Laudenslager is one K away from having the most for any Princeton pitcher since Kristen Schaus '08 in 2008 (189), and the 155 Ks are tied for 14th-most in a season in program history. Harrington has four saves this season, tying the program record, and has five in her career. Harrington's next save will give her the season mark solo and will put her alone in second on Princeton's career saves list, behind only the nine Riley Wilkinson '19 had.

Princeton's top-50 national statistical rankings entering the week include Ha's 24.8 at-bats per strikeout (23rd), Harrington's four saves (25th), catcher Ashley McDonald's 12 runners caught stealing (25th), Laudenslager's 9.2 Ks per seven (27th), Starks' 61 hits (37th), Laudenslager's 155 Ks (41st), and Dumais' four sacrifice flies (44th).

LIU, at 27-21, is 13-7 in the Northeast Conference and is also preparing for its four-team conference tournament the same days as the Ivy tournament. LIU is seeded third at the St. Francis (Pa.)-hosted tournament and will open against Central Connecticut State on May 11 with St. Francis and Merrimack as the other two teams. Camryn Lyman (.310 BA) leads the team at the plate with Kira Buckner (6-6, 3.08 ERA, 84.2 IP), Lindsey Cowans (12-8, 3.11, 139) and Alyssa O'Donnell (9-7, 3.70, 99.2) accounting for all the innings in the circle. LIU counts Kristen Blanchard's 23rd-best 0.23 sacrifice bunts per game and Lyman's 47th-best 0.66 walks per game as top-50 stat rankings.