LSU hosts NCAA opening round

As the year comes to a close, most students are focused solely on exams, papers and packing – but not the softball team. While everyone else is cramming and stressing, Princeton has the doubly daunting task of taking exams and prepping for the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. Tonight, they will face Louisiana State (51-12) in the first game of the Baton Rouge Regional, on LSU's home field, Tiger Park, at 7 p.m.

Princeton (34-17) is making its fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament in the last five years, by virtue of its automatic bid as Ivy League champions. The Tigers of Princeton will face off against the No. 15 Tigers of LSU first, then Louisiana-Lafayette (48-10) will take on North Carolina State (48-19) in the other half of the four-team regional.

The Tigers will have to knock the dust off their cleats as they suit up for tonight's game. The last game that they played was a loss in the second game of a doubleheader against Lehigh ten days ago.

But that wait doesn't seem to be worrying the team. Sophomore righthander Kris Schaus said that the team is "definitely" ready and well-prepared for the game.

"It's been a while since we've played, and this is it," she said. "This is playoffs in the national tournament, and I think a lot of us feel like we have a great chance this year. We are just really excited to get out there and make it happen."

In order to do that, Princeton will have to make history by beating a team from Louisiana for the first time, this being the first game that the Tigers will have ever played in Louisiana. In order to break that pattern, the team will have to overcome the statistical advantage that LSU holds in most categories.

While Princeton's pitching, behind the arms of senior righthander Erin Snyder and Schaus, has been stellar all year, the staff's 1.45 earned run average is still higher than LSU's mark of 1.20. The northern Tigers' bats lit up the Ivy League with a .279 team batting average, but LSU's .308 still edges them out.

The Tigers of LSU are led by three players — junior outfielder Leslie Klein (.394), senior designated player/outfielder Lauren Castle (.368) and sophomore second baseman Vanessa Soto (.362) — who all have averages higher than freshman leftfielder Kathryn Welch, the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, who led Princeton with a .342 average.

Beyond the numbers, the two Tiger teams have only one common opponent, Stanford. Both teams lost 1-0 to the Cardinals, who wrapped up the twelfth seed in the tournament.

But while these two teams have never faced each other, it doesn't mean that there is no rivalry coming into the game. It goes back a few years, but Snyder hasn't forgotten the high school and summer league rivalry she held with LSU's senior righthander Emily Turner. Snyder also has a history with two other players on the LSU bench, so she is excited for the game.

"I think we are definitely ready for this game," Snyder said in an email from Louisiana. "We will have to come out ready to play our best. In the past we have not always shown up for our first regional game, but there are three other good teams in this regional that we will have to be at our best to beat."

The tournament features 16 regionals with four teams in each who play in double-elimination format to determine who moves on to the Super Regional. The Baton Rouge regional winner will face the winner of the Tucson Regional, featuring Arizona, Ohio State, Tucson and Marist. The winner of the Super Regional moves on to the Women's College World Series.

Out of their element

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In order to get to the Super Regional, the Tigers will have to be at their best while in the spotlight. While loyal Princeton fans come out to cheer at modest Class of 1879 Field, the Tigers will be playing tonight at LSU's oft-packed Tiger Park, which holds 1,000 fans.

"I can't wait to see how our team performs when we are more of the underdog in the situation," Welch said. "It is a little nerve-wracking because we haven't played in front of such a large crowd yet, and tomorrow is expected to be packed!"

While the Princeton stats are edged out by LSU, and while they must travel to Louisiana to play, the Tigers are ready to change their recent NCAA history and knock off their host.

"We are really excited to get a shot at the top seed in the first game," Schaus said. "We all can't wait to get out there and give it our best, knowing that if we play like we can, we should be able to win."