Whether causing the pitching rubber to shake by sending shivers down the spines of opposing hurlers or by the impact of her own deadly windup, Erin Snyder, junior pitcher and first baseman for the NCAA tournament-bound softball team (35-18 overall, 12-2 Ivy League), raises the expectations for a two-way player in every game she plays.
Far from a novelty act, Snyder's ability to consistently secure victories with both her arm and her bat has been the driving force behind the Tigers' successful season. And while Snyder's dominance as Princeton's ace is what has earned most of her accolades — including six Ivy League Pitcher of the Week awards this season — her presence in the heart of the Tigers' lineup has been equally noteworthy.
"I love that I contribute to more than just the pitching staff," Snyder said, "even though it can be frustrating when one side of my game is not going well. I have high expectations, so I have to really try hard to leave behind a bad inning or a bad at-bat."
Fortunately for Snyder and the Tigers, both have been rare this season. Batting primarily in the cleanup spot, Snyder has made her opponents think twice about pitching around Princeton's most feared offensive weapon, senior centerfielder Melissa Finley, who precedes Snyder in the lineup.
As a result, Finley has seen enough strikes this season to lead the team in batting average and total bases. She has also scored a team-best 28 runs, a total that Snyder, who places third in the Ivy League with 30 runs batted in, has contributed to directly with her timely hitting. Snyder's RBI total, like all of her offensive numbers, is up significantly from last year.
"I think my improvement offensively this season has a lot to do with our new hitting coach, Trina Salcido," Snyder said. "She has changed a few things about my mechanics, and I have a lot more confidence at the plate than I used to because of that."
Snyder ranks among the top five on the Tigers in every major offensive category but triples. She has proven that she can hit for average — she hits at a .295 clip, which increases to .322 when there are runners in scoring position. Add to that Snyder's six home runs, a total surmounted by only two other Ivy players, and one can see why head coach Maureen Barron '97 has given Snyder only two days off all season.
On the other hand, it is often difficult for Snyder's talents as a pitcher not to overshadow all other aspects of her game — and, for that matter, all the other players on the field.
Over her 147 innings of work this season, Snyder has rarely been anything but dominant, having allowed just 15 earned runs. All but two of Snyder's fellow Ivy pitchers sport earned run averages more than twice as high as her league-leading 0.71.
Snyder's accomplishments this season have come despite the forearm splints in her right arm. Since spring break of last year, the muscles that Snyder uses to throw with have been slowly tearing away from the bone in her arm.
"We are definitely taking better care of my injury this season," Snyder said. "I really didn't pitch much over the summer in an attempt to let my arm get better. I pretty much lost one of my best pitches, the curveball, because it was really hard on my arm. To take its place, I made my screwball better."
With the modified approach, Snyder's record through 20 starts stands at 16-4, including 18 complete games and 10 shutouts. She also has given her fielders a chance to rest, racking up a league-high 216 strikeouts alongside just 20 walks.
Twice this season, though, statistics have failed to do Snyder justice. She became the first Tiger ever to record two perfect games in the same season, blanking Fairfield, 8-0, on March 29 before repeating the rare feat on April 17 in a 5-0 win over Dartmouth.
"Perfect games are always special, regardless, because they are so rare for pitchers," Snyder said. "But the second one was definitely more satisfying because it went the full seven innings and it was an Ivy game. The first one was different because we [beat the team by the "mercy rule"] and the game finished with us on offense rather than defense, which is not how perfect games usually end."
Leave it up to Snyder, to whom normal, one-dimensional definitions of success do not apply, to discover two ways to achieve perfection.
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