Princeton goes 9-5 in West Coast travels

The California sun seemed to agree with the softball team when they first hit the West Coast, as they swept through the Capital Classic in Sacramento, CA, before stumbling midweek and recovering to pull out a 3-2 record at the Stanford Invitational, where they came up just short of toppling No. 5 Stanford on Saturday. The Tigers finished their spring break trip 9-5 to become 10-8 on the season.

Pitching was the name of the game at the Capital Classic for the Tigers, with sophomore righthander Kris Schaus leading the way in the first two games, and saving the third. Schaus recorded her second career no-hitter on March 18th against Miami of Ohio (13-16) to help the Tigers record the 8-0 five-inning victory. The day before, Schaus only gave up five hits against Minnesota (10-12), but it wasn't until junior first baseman Calli Jo Varner sent Miami's Mandy Valadez's sixth inning pitch over the wall that the 2-2 tie was broken and Princeton recorded the win.

Varner was back on Sunday, this time on the mound, teaming up with Schaus to keep Southern Utah (2-20) to four hits in the 3-1 win, tacking on another win to push the Tiger win streak to four.

But it was senior righthander Erin Snyder who stole the show on Sunday, etching her name in the Princeton record book by breaking head coach Maureen Barron's career strikeout record with 600.

Snyder mowed down Nevada (11-17), stiking out 10 in the 10-0, five-inning victory to close out the Capital Classic. While the first game of the weekend was cancelled to repair the fields after rain, the Tigers went undefeated on the weekend.

The Tigers did not let a minor earthquake distract their bats in the first game of the double header on Tuesday against St. Mary's College (4-20) in Moraga, CA, at Cottrell Field. While SMC took a 1-0 lead to put the Orange and Black behind for the first time on its California trip, a five-run third inning would change that as Princeton sailed to a 7-3 win in the first game.

However, behind strong defense and a perfect throw from center to nail freshman catcher Larkin Brogan at the plate, SMC beat Princeton 6-1. Ivy League Pitcher of the Week Schaus gave up her second home run of the season in the first inning and only the fifth of the staff in all 69 innings played thus far, for the first run of the game. SMC continued to add on runs, with two each in the second and the fifth, and another in the sixth.

Going into their second double header on Wednesday, the Tigers seemed to be in shock from either the earthquake or the loss, as they dropped both games without scoring a run. While stranded batters and missed opportunities marked the St. Mary's loss, Sacramento State (17-10) was able to keep the Tigers away from the bases while racking up runs of its own.

Princeton headed into the Stanford Invitational at 8-6 with a three game skid, looking to turn things around. That is just what Snyder and Schaus teamed up to do against Illinois and UC Davis.

With a two-hit shut out, Snyder moved to 4-2 on the season in the 2-0 victory over the Illini, marking the second Big Ten victory of the season for the Tigers. Schaus followed suit and struck out 11 in the five-hit 3-1 victory later in the day on Friday against UC Davis.

However, it was the 1-0 loss to host Stanford that put a taint on the weekend. While the Tigers also fell 3-1 to Santa Clara (11-18), the Stanford (24-4) game was one the Tigers were looking to claim by repeating last year's upset of the No. 5 seed nationally. The Cardinals didn't convert until the fifth inning, but that one run was enough to seal the deal.

Princeton came home on a victory, beating the Illini for a second time, 4-3. The Tigers ended the week in California with nine wins and five losses.