After more than four weeks of traveling around the country and playing some of the toughest teams in the nation, the softball team is ready to settle down to what really counts – the Ivy Title.
Princeton begins its Ivy Title hopes this Saturday against Penn (8-14) down in Philadelphia.
Princeton (10-12) hopes to continue on the success it had against the Quakers last season. Princeton won both games of a double-header in the end of April at the Class of 1895 Field.
The Tigers' expectations for two wins are in no way unwarranted. Penn finished with a 15-32 overall record last season and was only 3-11 in the Ivy League.
In the first game of last year's double-header, senior pitcher Brie Galicinao pitched a perfect game against Penn for the second straight year. She can make it three straight with another amazing performance this weekend.
In the second game, Princeton jumped on Penn starting pitcher Becky Ranta and refused to let up. At the end of the game, Princeton had racked up 17 hits and cruised to the easy 9-3 win.
The Tigers should also be confident because of the way they have been playing as of late. Princeton picked up two wins in a double-header with Rutgers on Wednesday and hung tough with many of the top teams in the country on a recent swing down south.
Also, Galicinao, the catalyst for the team, appears to be back into the same form that she was in last year. That was the year she became the first player to win Ivy League Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the same season. She shut out Rutgers in the first game of the double-header, and went 3-4 from the plate with 2 RBI in the second game.
The Tigers also appear to have answered the question of who will be a No. 2 starter behind Galicinao. Coach Maureen Davies '97 would prefer to not have to pitch her ace in back-to-back games.
Sophomore Wendy Bingham and freshman Melissa Finley have both stepped up and pitched well. Bingham is coming off a six-strikeout effort against Rutgers.
"I think we are ready for the Ivy season," said Davies. "We had a great week down south and we have had some great games."
The Tigers are hoping that two wins at Penn lead to bigger and better things, most importantly an Ivy title and a trip to the NCAA Championships.
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