Softball's regular season to end with games against St. Joseph's

Some seasons end with dramatic finishes to determine who goes to the postseason, or who gets home-field advantage. This is not the case for the softball team.

When Princeton wraps up its regular season this afternoon against St. Joseph's at 1895 Field, there will no drama. These two games do not determine the Tigers' postseason fate in any way, and even two losses could not put a damper on an otherwise wildly successful season.

Princeton has already secured a spot in the NCAA tournament by winning the Ivy title, its first since 1996. In addition, these last two games will probably have no bearing on where Princeton plays, or what seed it receives.

Since the Ivy League is considered to be one of the weaker conferences in the nation, Princeton will not receive a very high seed in the tournament. In addition, their pre-conference record was not good enough to earn them significant points in the eyes of the selection committee.

"These games probably don't matter for seeding," freshman catcher Lauren Palmer said. "[The selection committee does] not usually think highly of the Ivy League."

The 48 teams that will compete in the tournament are divided into eight divisions of six teams. The top team in each division is the host for that region. Princeton will probably be the fifth or sixth seed in its division.

While it would be easy for Princeton to look past the Hawks, that would not be wise for the team. The Tigers are playing their best ball of the year at the most opportune time, and they do not want to ruin that momentum.

The team has won 10 straight games and seems to have found the one thing that was missing all year, offensive consistency.

"We needed to string hits together," Palmer said. "We are now doing a good job of that – especially this weekend."

Coach Maureen Davies' decision to move senior pitcher Brie Galicinao to the top of the order seems to have paid dividends by getting the offense on track. Galicinao has a .389 on base percentage and a .344 average. The players behind her have been able to knock her in, as seen from Galicinao's team high 33 runs scored.

One of the players who have done an amazing job behind Galicinao is sophomore infielder Kristin Del Calvo. Del Calvo has had an explosive season, leading the team in batting average (.357), HR (12), and RBI (41). Her 12 dingers shattered the previous school record of seven in one season.

Princeton will have to be sharp if it hopes to get runs across against the Hawks pitching staff. St. Joseph's will send Dana Travis and Brandie Adams to the mound. Travis has an ERA of only 1.52 and has struck out 153 hitters in only 138 innings. The junior Adams has been almost as good. She boasts an ERA of 1.72 and brings a 12-4 record to today's game.

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The Hawks also have some offensive players who can push runs across. Freshman Cara Deldeo is coming off a great week in which she won Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week honors. Deldeo hit .444 last week and also chipped in six runs scored and three RBI in only three games. Daldeo, who leads off for St. Joe's, is hitting .344 on the year.

Another freshman, Megan Richardson, has also made huge contributions to the Hawks' lineup. Richardson is tops on the team with a .364 average.

However, Princeton hasn't gotten to where they are without a solid pitching staff. The Tigers are led by Galicinao, whose arm has carried the Tigers to 16 wins this season. She has a miniscule ERA of 1.48 and has struck out 133 hitters in 135 innings.

Behind her will be either be sophomore Wendy Bingham or freshman Melissa Finley. Finley's style is similar to Galicinao's, so if Davies wants to change it up, she will probably go with Bingham.

Chances are the choice that Davies makes will work out. Most of her other decisions have worked perfectly, as the Tigers are headed back to the NCAAs.