This weekend the softball team will cross the Rubicon, as they host Brown and Yale in two doubleheaders that could send the team to another glorious Ivy League title or see the team's title hopes dashed.
With Harvard, who swept the Tigers in a doubleheader last Saturday, sitting atop the league standings with a perfect 4-0 record, the die most certainly has been cast.
Princeton (16-13 overall, 3-3 Ivy League) currently finds itself in a disappointing fourth place in the league and in the midst of a four-game losing streak. The Tigers have won the league the past two years, and were considered favorites to capture a third title this year.
Brown (10-13, 3-1) and Yale (20-14, 3-1), however, are currently tied for second in the league, so a Tiger sweep this weekend could vault Princeton right back into the title race.
Yet even if the Tigers come, see, and conquer this weekend, they will need some help to win the league. Although they won the title last year with three league losses, the Tigers must hope for Harvard to stumble, as Princeton will not face the Crimson again this season.
The Tigers will rely on sophomore pitcher Erin Snyder. Snyder has been a veritable power outage this year, since she has been lights out on the mound. When she pitches, the Bears and the Elis should light some candles and check the circuit breakers.
Snyder has been downright miserly this season, allowing only 24 earned runs in 104.2 innings pitched for a 1.61 earned-run average, which leads the team. She also leads the team in wins, with her record standing at 8-8.
She was named Ivy League Pitcher of the Week on Wednesday for her performance last week, when she went 2-1 and struck out 29. Her loss came in a 20-inning heartbreaking defeat to Harvard, in which she only gave up two runs. This award marks her third honor in the four weeks the award has been given.
Junior Melissa Finley has also been a pitching stalwart for the Tigers. Although her record currently stands at 3-5, she only has a 1.87 ERA.
Freshmen Calli Varner and Amelia Runyan have also been on the mound for the Tigers. Varner has a 3-0 record with a 2.42 ERA and Runyan stands at 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA.
The Tiger offense needs to return to life after scoring only one run in the doubleheader at Harvard.
Finley is currently the only Tiger hitting above .300, as she has a .319 batting average. She currently holds the team triple crown, leading the Tigers with five home runs and 19 RBIs.
Snyder is batting .293 with 11 RBIs, and senior first base Kristin Del Calvo is hitting .286. Junior second base Kristin Lueke is hitting .283 and leads the team with five stolen bases.
Brown, who comes to town on Friday, will give the Tigers' pitchers a hard day's work. The Bears have a veritable Murderers' Row in the middle of the lineup.
Brown's Jaimie Wirkowski is batting .464 to lead the team. She is tied for second on the team in RBIs with Laura Leonetti, having hit 19. Leonetti boasts a .426 average in addition to six stolen bases. Courtney Jenkins rounds out the Bears' Maulers' Row with a .361 batting average. She has clobbered five home runs and leads the team with 20 RBIs.
But even though Brown's mighty offense appears to have the strength of Achilles, its pitching may prove to be its vulnerable heel.
The only Bear pitcher with an ERA under 4.00 is Sara Corrigan-Gibbs at 3.58, who has a 3-3 record. The rest of Brown's pitching has been relatively unimpressive.
Furthermore, the Bears are only 1-6 on the road this year, which will play to the Tigers' advantage.
Yale, however, may prove a tougher challenge, as its style is more akin to that of the Tigers.
The Elis have extremely strong pitching with a team ERA of only 1.56. Sophomores Peggy Hunt and Beth Pavlicek lead the way with 0.71 ERAs. Hunt stands at 9-2 and Pavliceck at 6-3.
But, like Princeton, Yale has only one hitter, Chelsea Kanyer, batting above .300.
The Tigers will count on their pitching to shut down the Elis, and hope that their offense comes alive despite Yale's hurlers.
Yet if any facet of the game goes wrong for the Tigers, they could see their title hopes go down in inglorious defeat.
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