Softball looks to sustain momentum during Spring Break trip to Florida

This year, before deciding on the schedule for the 1999-2000 campaign, head coach Cindy Cohen presented her softball team with a choice.

Coming off a year in which the Tigers never recovered from early season losses, Cohen wondered whether the team would benefit from playing easier competition during Spring Break, and thereby boosting its confidence for the rest of the season. The other option was, of course, going to Florida and playing in the Florida State University Tournament — where some of the best teams in the nation gather to compete.

Needless to say, it did not take a bare majority to decide how and where the Tigers would spend their Spring Break.

"Basically, they unanimously decided that they wanted to play that tough competition," Cohen said. "They believe in the philosophy that you have to play the best to be the best."

As midterm week winds down, the Tigers gear up for a trip to sunnier weather where they will play anywhere from 10 to 13 games — depending on how well they perform at the FSU Tournament March 17-19 in Tallahassee.

Princeton, however, will begin its 'break' with a game this Sunday against Florida A&M and continue with a double header action against Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Florida State the next three days. Then a day of rest on Thursday will be followed by the first round of the FSU Tournament, which will consist of games against the likes of Bethune-Cookman, Georgia Southern and national power Michigan.

Most of the opponents on its schedule are are enigmas to the Tigers, since they are out-of-region opponents. Last year, Princeton played only two of its upcoming opponents last season during the same Spring Break trip resulting in two losses to Southern Georgia and Northern Iowa.

The Tigers do know that their opponents will give them plenty of reason to be at the top of their game.

Iowa State and Florida State — two of their double header opponents — are perennial regional qualifiers, and Michigan has attended the World Series three of the last four years, while also being the No. 1 seed at last year's regional competition.

"There is no doubt we'll be challenged," Cohen said. "There is not a team on this schedule that we can be easy on."

Princeton will have to be led by its pitching. Senior ace Sarah Peterman hopes to build upon her solid performances this weekend, where she earned her first two wins of the season without giving up an earned run. Second and third starters Bri Galiciano and Sarah Jane White, on the other hand, need to overcome early-season jitters that plagued their respective first innings in their opening starts of the season.

"You know we had a couple of bad innings here and there [this past weekend] but overall, I'm pleased with the way we performed," Cohen said.

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The Tigers can be especially encouraged by their offensive prowess in its first weekend. While the team only won two of four games, Princeton bats rallied from deficits of four and six runs, showing an offensive resiliency that was missing from last year's squad.

"We showed a lot of courage at the plate, hitting the ball hard and just being generally aggressive," Cohen said. "We are going to be a good offensive team if we just make the adjustment from pitcher to pitcher, game to game."

Peterman was particularly impressed by the communication on the field and the general sense of confidence among her fellow teammates about this season's prospects.

"This is the most positive I have ever felt starting a season," Peterman said. "If we can just maintain the confidence and sense of fun from last weekend, we'll be ready to win in Florida."