Softball comes back from rainy trip to Georgia with one win, five losses

Despite a rain-plagued Spring Break that caused the cancellation of five games last week, the softball team (4-6 overall) gained valuable outdoor playing time on its trip down south. Competing against teams that already had thirty games under their belts, Princeton went 1-5 during break.

Before the team headed to Alabama and Georgia for what was supposed to be a week full of games, Princeton played a doubleheader against Villanova at 1895 Field March 17. Though they fell 3-0 to the Wildcats in the first game, the Tigers came back in the second and collected a solid 6-2 victory.

"Against Villanova we came out flat in the first game," head coach Maureen Davies '97 said. "There was never a question that we were a better team. In between games I told the girls we needed to be more aggressive, and that's what they did in the second game."

"We knew we could beat [Villanova]," junior pitcher Bri Galicinao said. "When we first faced them, that was the first time we had played in two weeks. During the second match we were just able to get more into the swing of things."

The Tigers then shuffled down to Alabama, where they were slated to play Auburn March 19. The rainy weather, however, forced the teams to cancel the game. Princeton hit the road once again, hoping to get some live playing time in Macon, Ga., where they were scheduled to play Mercer. The weather didn't let up in Georgia and the Tigers were forced to reschedule the game to March 22.

Princeton next traveled to Atlanta, where it anxiously awaited its game with Georgia State. The fields at Georgia State, however, were still sopping wet from three straight days of rain. The Tigers were forced to cancel their third game in a row. While the weather prevented outdoor play, the team was able to get some indoor practice at a local facility.

"To avoid going stir crazy in the hotel, we decided to rent an indoor facility for a day and even conducted practice outdoors on one of the dryer days," Davies said.

"It was really disappointing that we had to cancel so many games because of the weather," Galicinao said.

Finally, the Tigers saw some outdoor playing time March 22 in Macon, Ga., where they took the field for the first time all week against Mercer in a doubleheader. Though Princeton came out strong in the beginning and out-hit the Bears 8-6, it failed bring in enough runs and eventually fell 3-1.

Similar to their games against Villanova earlier in the week, the Tigers were able to come back in the second game against Mercer. With strong performances from Galicinao, senior outfielder Lori Volker and junior shortstop Kim Veenstra, Princeton plated nine runs and ended the game early with an 8 run lead over Mercer in the sixth inning.

"The second game against Mercer was definitely one of the week's highlights for us," Galicinao said. "We hit really well and played strong defensively. It made us excited and anxious to play more games."

With games against Cleveland and UConn the very next day Princeton kicked off the first round at the Buzz Classic in Marietta, Ga., a tournament hosted by Georgia Tech. Both games were extremely close, but an inexperienced Tiger squad was unable to top its competition and eventually fell 4-3 to Cleveland and 1-0 to UConn — a game that was scoreless until the ninth inning.

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"I think UConn was our most challenging game all week," Davies said. "It was a close match that could have gone either way. Bri pitched a great game it was just a matter of who was first to score."

The following day Princeton would register two more close losses in its second day at the Buzz Classic - falling 1-0 to Maryland and 10-7 to Troy State.

"Even though we went 1-5, it was still a great trip," Davies said. "We were all so excited to get out there and play. It also enabled the girls to really bond together as a team."

Princeton looks to improve its record tomorrow when it faces Rutgers Wednesday in New Brunswick in its first game back from Spring Break. Saturday the Tigers will return home for the Princeton Invitational, where they hope to avenge last week's narrow loss to Maryland. Princeton is slated to play Marist in a doubleheader beginning at 11 am Sunday.