Softball to open season this weekend at the Texas-Arlington Tournament

The Princeton softball team (18-24 overall, 9-10 Ivy) looks to kick off a promising season this weekend as it travels to Arlington, Texas to take on South Dakota State University (2-3) and University of Texas at Arlington .

The Tigers played well last season, finishing with a strong record. Princeton finished just shy of Penn in the race for the Ivy League South title and a berth in the NCAA tournament, and spent most of the season battling through the middle of their division with Columbia and Cornell.

However, things are looking up for the Tigers. Princeton lost six seniors to graduation last year, including All-Ivy honorable mentions Cara Worden and Alyssa Schmidt, as well as second team All-Ivy Rachel Rendina, an all-around threat who played both infielder and outfielder. However, the team has since replaced these players with a strong freshman class and a determined outlook.

Princeton head coach Lisa Van Ackeren, discussing the team’s offseason, expressed confidence in her squad’s preparation.

“Preseason has been really productive so far,” she noted. “I think the whole team has really committed to a solid work ethic, day in and day out, and every day we try to get a little bit better… we’ve had to prepare quickly, but they’ve responded very well.”

Senior first baseman/third baseman Kayla Bose also expressed excitement about the new talent.

“We came in with six great freshmen, so I am not concerned at all about our hitting,” Bose observed. “In fact, we had a scrimmage last weekend, which was one of our most productive scrimmages, I think, ever opening our preseason.”

The Tigers’ first foe will be North Dakota State. Prominent threats from the Bison will come in the form of Maritz Lopez-Portillo, a left-fielder who went through 73 fielding chances without error last year, and Katie Shoultz, who batted .245, scored 30 runs and stole 18 bases in 21 attempts as a freshman.

Princeton will also face the University of Texas at Arlington, a team which swept through six wins in just five days. Star performers for the Mavericks thus far have included three freshmen: Krista Rude and Brianna Burchianti, who combined for 16 hits in the team’s undefeated run, and pitcher Samantha Clakley, who pitched seven strikeouts. The team will prove a young threat fresh off of a hot start.

Princeton will play these two teams five times in the next three days, facing South Dakota State three times and Texas-Arlington twice. The Tigers will draw from a well-balanced cast, although they will depend especially on senior pitcher Shanna Christian, who also grabbed second-team All-Ivy honors last season after pitching four game shutouts, and junior outfielder Marissa Reynolds, who managed four multi-hit games last season, in particular.

However, Christian believed that it is the cohesion and the excellent dynamic of the group as a whole that will set it (and this year’s season) apart.

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“This might be our best shot of the four years,” Christian said. “We vibe really well on and off the field, and I’m just really excited to see how it all comes together in Texas."