Welch powers Tigers into Manhattan

Midway through the season, the softball team can already sense the hunger for a championship setting in. The next 12 games of Princeton's season will determine who will take home the league title and bragging rights for next year.

"These next three weekends include the teams with the top three records in the Ivy - us, Cornell and Penn," junior pitcher Kristen Schaus said. "Whoever can win the most out of these next 12 games will win the division."

Before they get to Cornell and Penn, the Tigers (16-21 overall, 6-2 Ivy League) will take on Columbia (15-17, 5-7) in a four-game series on the Lions' home field in New York City this weekend. Princeton will play two games Saturday, at 1 and 3 p.m., and cap off the weekend repeating the same schedule Sunday.

The matchup marks the first time this season the two teams have met this season off, though they have both already faced some of the same Ivy League foes. Both Princeton and Columbia managed to beat a strong Brown team twice and went a combined 3-1 against Harvard and Yale. The Tigers have the numerical edge, however as they managed to overpower Dartmouth while the Lions fell to the same opponent.

While Columbia has accumulated more losses against Ivy League teams than the Tigers, its statistics prove that it is a force to be reckoned with. The Lions have four players batting over .300 so far this season, including sophomore shortstop Keli Leong, who has a team-leading .400 batting average. She not only gets hits often, but also manages to get them when her team has runners on base, as she has been able to knock in 12 RBI. Right behind Leong is sophomore second baseman Chantee Dempsey with a .353 batting average and 11 RBI.

Not only are Columbia's bats getting hot - its pitching is heating up as well. The team's number-one pitcher, freshman Aimee Kemp, is 11-7 with a 2.98 ERA. The Lions' number-two pitcher, freshman Amanda Snyder, has a slightly lower ERA than Kemp at 2.32, but her record is only 4-9.

Though the Lions are strong on the mound, their confidence crumbles as soon as runners get on base. Columbia has difficulty stopping other teams from running on them as opponents have been able to steal 16 bases off them this season. This should give sophomore outfielder Brianna Moreno, Princeton's leading base stealer, confidence to test her legs against Columbia's catcher.

"We really need to make sure we execute getting runners to score, especially when we get lead-off hitters on," Schaus said. "We are very young, so playing with confidence and having a little bit of attitude is also something that's really important."

Sophomore infielder Kathryn Welch has been devastating to other teams all season, knocking in a team-leading 26 RBI and batting .348. She will have to bring offensive firepower to kick-start her team into gear this weekend against a solid Lion pitching staff.

Fortunately for the Tigers, both of Columbia's starting pitchers are freshmen. This lack of collegiate experience could prove fatal for the Lions if Princeton can get on base and rattle the young team.

The Tigers are just coming off a close game against Lehigh on Wednesday that was won with late-inning heroics. The team hopes to carry that momentum into this weekend's games against Columbia.

"We're really excited for this weekend," Schaus said. "I think things are coming together, and personally, I know I'm excited to get our there and give it all I've got."

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If Princeton is able to maintain confidence in its ability to battle tough opponents and fight to the end, the Lions should beware the eye of the Tiger this weekend.