Schaus' no-hitter highlights Tigers' 4-1 start

The softball team opened its season with four straight shutout wins in round-robin play at the East Carolina Pirate Clash in Greensboro, N.C., this weekend. Though the Tigers (4-1 overall) lost in the quarterfinals of the ensuing single-elimination tournament, their overall showing was an extremely positive start to their season thanks to several strong performances from key players.

Saturday morning was undoubtledly Princeton's high point for the weekend's contests. Freshman pitcher Kristen Schaus threw a no-hitter in her second Princeton start and led the Tigers to a dominating 9-0 win over Elon. It was only the 14th no-hitter in team history, an impressive feat for any player, let alone a freshman.

Junior pitcher and designated hitter Erin Snyder powered the team's offense with three hits and five runs batted in, including a three-run home run in the fourth inning.

"We were hitting the ball real well. The offense definitely produced and that makes it a lot easier when you're out on the mound," Schaus said.

Unforseen upet

After earning the No. 1 seed for the Sunday tournament by virtue of its 4-0 showing in preliminary play, Princeton's road toward an undefeated weekend was forced to run through Elon, the No. 8 seed, once again.

This time, however, the Tigers would not have the fortune of a no-hitter, and the Phoenix pulled off a 5-1 upset.

Elon's pitchers held the Tigers scoreless throughout most of the game. The highlight of the game for Princeton was junior Lindsay Motal's home run leading off the sixth inning, the Tigers' fourth round-tripper in five games.

Sophomore pitcher Calli Varner, who turned in a stellar performance earlier in the weekend, gave up four runs in the last four innings, allowing Elon to pull away and eliminate the Tigers.

The Tigers started the weekend with a 1-0 win against North Carolina State on a solo home run by senior first baseman Ty Ries. The shot, which came in the fifth inning, broke up a no-hitter that North Carolina State pitcher Abbie Sims had been working on.

Snyder, who would later provide the offense behind Schaus' no-hitter, picked up the win for Princeton, striking out 12 and allowing just four hits.

Outduking the Dukes

In the second game Friday afternoon, Varner pitched five innings of scoreless ball against James Madison University to take home the 3-0 win.

Against the Dukes, junior catcher Amanda Erickson went two-for-three at the plate with two RBIs, while junior shortstop Christina Cobb-Adams also went two-for-three and scored two runs. Freshman first baseman Beth Dalmut scored after walking in the second inning to put the Tigers on the board, her first run scored as a Tiger.

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In Saturday's second game, the Tigers maintained their stellar performance and recorded another 3-0 win, this time over East Carolina, to improve to 4-0. Senior outfielder Melissa Finley gave Princeton enough run support with her two-run home run in the bottom of the first to carry the Tigers.

Snyder had yet another dominating performance on the mound, pitching four innings of shutout ball to beat East Carolina and give Princeton the No. 1 seed in Sunday's single-elimination tournament.

Though Princeton couldn't hold off Elon a second time to close the weekend undefeated, the Tigers displayed strong pitching and aggressive hitting throughout the games, receiving strong play from numerous players — including several freshmen who will be counted on to play key roles this year — in an auspicious opening to their season.

"We want to keep moving upward steadily and keep improving," Schaus said. This will be crucial for the Tigers when they face teams that already have a significant number of games played under their beltthis season.

Princeton will depart this weekend for sunny California, where the Tigers will be participating in the National Invitational tournament in Santa Clara beginning Friday in San Jose.