Softball looks to rebound with strong showing against Ivy foes

"No one comes into our house and pushes us around."

Every great home team tries to live by this mantra and the softball team is no different. This weekend the Tigers will host two doubleheaders against Ivy League foes Dartmouth and Harvard in the hopes of defending their home turf.

Princeton (18-14-1 overall, 8-1-0 Ivy League) has enjoyed great success this year versus conference opponents and will look to continue its winning ways starting with the Big Green.

Dartmouth (5-17, 2-6) is a team that the Tigers should sweep — anything less would be a huge disappointment. The Big Green have had a season to forget thus far, claiming just one road victory in eight opportunities. At home Dartmouth is not much better, just 2-6 when playing in front of its home crowd. In short, the Big Green have trouble winning anywhere, which should play right into the hands of Princeton.

The source of Dartmouth's ineptitude is its struggles at the plate. The Big Green have hit a mere .189 this season.

Dartmouth has one hitter worth mentioning, however, in infielder Kisa Brannen. While the rest of the squad has had a sub-par season, Brannen has a team-leading .345 batting average. She has driven in 12 of the Big Green's 32 RBIs with a .431 slugging percentage. The rest of Brannen's teammates bat .227 or lower, which means that Dartmouth is in for a world of hurt when it faces the Tigers' talented pitching staff.

Shutting down Branne will be one of the keys to victory for Princeton this weekend.

On the other side of the coin, the Big Green have some hurlers that can get the job done. Most notably, pitcher Danica Guigliano has accounted for all five of her team's victories by posting an impressive 1.35 ERA over 72.0 innings pitched. Guigliano has struck out 68 batters, but due to poor run support has a sub-..500 record of 5-6. If Princeton can handle Guigliano the rest of Dartmouth's pitching staff should pose no significant problems for the Tigers. After taking care of business against the Big Green, Princeton will have to shift its focus to Harvard (11-21, 4-4). Though the Crimson boast a less than stellar record, they should give the Tigers a run for their money. Do not let Harvard's record fool you into believing that Princeton is in for a cakewalk on Sunday. Unlike Dartmouth, the Crimson can hit.

As a team Harvard bats a robust .275, but this is somewhat offset by the fact that its opponents have hit .293. Nonetheless, the Crimson have several sluggers that are capable of making pitchers pay for their mistakes.

Freshman Rachel Murray leads the team with a .439 batting average, though she has started 13 games this year. Murray has 18 hits in 41 at bats this season with an on-base percentage of .511. When she is in the game, Murray is a force to be reckoned with at the plate.

Another dangerous Crimson hitter is senior Tiffany Whitton, who has started all 32 games this season. Whitton is hitting .394 with 10 doubles and 20 RBIs this season and has shown no signs of slowing down. Additionally, she has hit four of Harvard's 18 home runs this year, while compiling a Barry Bonds-like slugging percentage of .628. There should be no shortage of runs when the Crimson and Tigers get together this Sunday.

Harvard's pitching staff has had problems shutting teams down this year, as evidenced by its team ERA of 4.21. The Crimson have given up 34 home runs in almost as many games this season. Junior pitcher Kara Brotemarkle has an ERA of 3.83, good for second on the team, and has fanned a team-high 74 batters in 75.0 innings pitched. Her downside is that she has also surrendered 12 home runs en route to a 4-9 record. Brotemarkle is one of Harvard's workhorses, but her up and down play is emblematic of the Crimson's entire pitching staff.

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While the Tigers will face two very different opponents this weekend in Dartmouth and Harvard, the end results should be the same — the home team should remind the visitors whose house they are in with a sweep of both doubleheaders.