Princeton aims to take West Coast by storm

Most people associate a trip to California over spring break with relaxation on the beach, lying in the sun and general laziness, but not the Princeton softball team. The Tigers will pack in 14 games against 11 teams over nine days in Northern California during their West Coast trip.

The Tigers hit the road with a 2-3 record, after losing three tough one-run games in North Carolina two weeks ago. Continuing in last season's fashion, however, senior Erin Snyder was name the first Ivy League Pitcher of the Week of the season, an honor she received six of the nine weeks in the 2005 campaign.

Highlighting the trip will be the two three-day weekend tournaments. The Tigers will take on 10 different teams, many of which they have either no or limited experience playing against. They will start the trip at the Capital Classic in Sacramento, Calif., and then wrap things up at the Stanford Invitational next weekend.

At the Capital Classic, Princeton will face-off against Utah State, Minnesota, Miami (Ohio), Southern Utah and Nevada.

While all the teams they will play at the Capital Classic have a winning percentage under .500, the competition should still be strong, particularly in Friday evening's game against Minnesota and Saturday's game against Miami (Ohio). Minnesota comes into the tournament 10-11 boasting a strong, young pitching staff led by freshman Brianna Hassett, who sports a 1.62 ERA. In addition, the Tigers will be looking to avenge their 2-1 first round NCAA loss to Minnesota in 2002.

Their first game on Friday will be against Utah State who hasn't played since Feb. 26 when they completed the first part of their season, tallying a 2-14 record. Most of their games, however, came against strong West Coast teams. The Princeton pitchers will have to be aware of sophomore third baseman/outfielder Amy Schiable, who leads the USU offense with a .390 average. Tigers will look to take advantage of the Aggie's pitching staff, which is led by senior righthander Heather Straight, who leads the team with a 5.25 ERA.

The Orange and Black take on the Redhawks of Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, who come in as an offensive powerhouse. With a team batting average over .314 and eight of its players hitting over .300, the Redhawks will be looking to reverse their luck after losing their last five games in California. The tough stretch has dropped their record to 12-13.

The Tigers round out their weekend with their first ever meetings against both Southern Utah and Nevada. Princeton will clash with the struggling Southern Utah (1-17) on Saturday night before taking on Nevada (10-14) on Sunday. The Wolfpack's sophomore pitcher Jordan McPhearson has pitched over half of their innings and has a 2.87 ERA.

Sandwiched between the two weekend tournaments are two midweek doubleheaders against Saint Mary's on Tuesday, March 21, and Sacramento State on Wednesday, March 22.

In their only previous match-up, Saint Mary's fell to Princeton in both games of their doubleheader last year by scores of 6-1 and 5-1. The Gaels come in with a 2-16 record. Sacramento State, at 10-9, depends on senior righthander Nikki Cinque who has been in the circle for more than half of the Hornet's innings and has an impressive 1.19 ERA.

After a rest day on Thursday, the Tigers will head to Stanford where they will take on UC Davis, Santa Clara and host Stanford, as well as facing Illinois twice.

Their biggest game of the week will come against Stanford, whose storied history as a Pac-10 power includes two Women's College World Series appearances. Ranked No. 5 nationally, the Cardinals are 22-4. This, however, doesn't scare Princeton, who knocked off Stanford last season 2-1 in their biggest non-conference win of the season.

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On the mound for Stanford will be one of their three pitchers who have a sub 1.50 ERA, led by freshman Missy Penna. If the Tigers are able to repeat their 2005 performance against the Cardinals, they have the potential to sweep through this west coast trip.

Princeton opens the invitational against the Illini on Friday, a team the Tigers have never played. Illinois comes into the tournament at 10-14 and have five players who are batting over .300, including senior first baseman Jenna Hall who has handled opposing pitching staffs well so far, with a .472 average.

Princeton plays UC Davis in its second game on Friday, with whom it split a doubleheader last season. The Aggies are 8-14 this year and have four players batting over .300. On Saturday the Tigers will look to avenge last season's 5-4 eighth-inning loss against Santa Clara, who has an 8-15 record.

In a whirlwind trip during the next nine days, the Tigers will face an array of opponents and look start off well to set the tone for their season. While the players may also manage to sneak in some classic spring break California rays, they will have to stay on top of their game throughout the trip in order to come home with an unblemished spring break record.