Princeton to play four in Maryland

There is no sound as beautiful as the crack of a bat connecting solidly with a ball. Luckily for Princeton, the softball team is back in action and has been letting the beautiful sound ring all over the Class of 1895 Field. Though it is only a few weeks into the season, the Tigers look like they're on track to match last season's stellar record.

This weekend, Princeton (2-2 overall) heads to College Park, Md., to take on four different teams — host Maryland (7-8), Central Connecticut State (1-3), Louisville (6-8) and Rhode Island (0-4) — over the course of three days.

Coming off an opening-weekend split, the Tigers will look to take advantage of the fact that none of the teams on the slate at the Maryland Invitational have a winning record.

First up, the Tigers will play Central Connecticut State at 10 a.m. today. The Blue Devils began their season last weekend at a tournament hosted by George Mason. They gained their only win against Niagara and suffered a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Ivy League foe Cornell.

Last year, Central Connecticut finished up the year with a Northeast Conference record of 4-14 and an overall record of 8-38. Its ace starting pitcher this year, Rachel Brenneman, is only a sophomore, so the Tigers will try to exploit her inexperience to get hits early and often. The Blue Devil defense has had a shaky start, already accumulating eight errors, so Princeton will look to get the bat on the ball and force Central Connecticut to step up and make the play.

Princeton will complete today's doubleheader with a game against Louisville. The Cardinals have already played in several tournaments this season, starting play in early February. The Tigers will attempt to offset Louisville's extra seasoning with some quickly improving play of their own.

"Last weekend was the first time we've been outside in months," junior infielder Lauren Bierman said. "It was about getting the kinks out. This weekend we expect to come out stronger and play solidly against every team."

Louisville's strongest hitter through 14 games is freshman catcher Melissa Roth, and while the Cardinals' bats have been heating up recently, their pitching and defense have left much to be desired. Each of their eight losses has been by three runs or more. If Princeton can jump out to an early lead, it can neutralize the impact of Louisville's big hitters.

The Tigers will then have to get up bright and early tomorrow morning to take on a familiar foe, Rhode Island. At 9 a.m., Princeton will look to get its second win this season off the Rhodys, whom the team dominated last weekend in a 10-1 win that was cut short by the run rule after five winnings.

Rhode Island has struggled this season, stumbling out of the gates winless through four games. The Rhodys' biggest problems have been on defense, where the team has committed 10 errors and allowed opponents to bat .404.

This game could turn into another blowout if the Tiger hitters — like Bierman, who sports an impressive season batting average of .500 — continue to swing the bats well.

Wrapping up weekend play, Princeton will take on host Maryland at 1 p.m. tomorrow. Maryland, like Louisville, already has over a dozen games under its belt and has traveled to two tournaments in Florida and one in California over the course of last month.

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Leading the way for the Terrapins offensively is shortstop Amber Jackson, who is batting .316 with a whopping slugging percentage of .842. Jackson has also amassed 10 stolen bases on 10 attempts, so Tiger pitchers will have to be aware of her presence in the lineup.

Princeton is riding a two-game winning streak from its opening weekend and will look to continue a smooth transition from winter practice to seasonal play.

"This past weekend was really great for us to see our potential and allowed a lot of the younger players to step up in tight situations," junior starting pitcher Kristen Schaus said. "I think we've got a really great group of girls this year."