Salciado takes the reins

The Tigers are starting their season with a newly promoted head coach, Trina Salciado, and two new assistant coaches, Cristina Cobb-Adams ’06 and Alexis Alcantara. Salciado was an assistant coach for three seasons before accepting the top position last June.

Players have adapted well to Salciado’s new position.

“She played a huge role as an assistant,” sophomore infielder Collette Abbott said. “It hasn’t really changed the dynamics of the team that much. It’s also been really great having two new faces come in.”

Salciado has been talking with the players about a straightforward goal for this season: play to win.

“I know it seems simple enough,” Salciado said. “But with the tradition of success and history of success we have at Princeton, I think in the last few years we got caught up in the pressure of what that tradition means … to play to win versus to play not to lose — there’s a crucial difference there.”

Princeton softball has built a solid reputation over the years, with 16 Ivy League championships total and four since 2002. In addition, the Tigers have reached the College World Series twice, in 1995 and 1996. Despite its past success, Princeton posted a 12-8 league record in 2007 and finished a disappointing third behind Harvard and Penn.

“I think our biggest problem was inconsistency,” Abbott said. “This year, as long as we stay consistent … and everyone does their own job and puts it together to communicate as a team, the team will be really successful.”

Leading the team in its quest to regain Ivy glory are the captains, senior infielder/outfielder Beth Dalmut and junior infielder Kathryn Welch.

“They’re both just great leaders for the team,” Abbott said. “Their playing ability is obviously great, but their presence on the field just keeps us together, keeps us communicating and working as a team.”

Welch — who batted .433 against league opponents and was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2006 — was one of the five Tigers selected for an All-Ivy team last year. Junior outfielder Erin Miller nabbed an honorable mention, while sophomore pitcher Jamie Lettire, senior pitcher Kristen Schaus and Welch were named to the All-Ivy second team. Junior outfielder Brianna Moreno made her All-Ivy debut as a first-team pick.

Princeton has retained seven of nine starters and two of three pitchers from last season. Moreno led the team last spring with 54 hits and a .353 batting average.

In the circle, Schaus has also been a consistent contributor for the Tigers. She was chosen as 2005 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Ivy first team in her freshman and sophomore seasons. In 2007, she threw 159 innings and struck out 183 batters.

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In addition to a solid collection of juniors and seniors, Salciado has high expectations for the underclassmen.

“We have a young team,” Salciado said. “From our freshman and sophomore class, between the eight of them we will probably start six of them. They are a strong unit, those two classes. They’re young, but they play with maturity and intensity and confidence.”

In Virginia this weekend, the Tigers will face seasoned teams that started their own seasons weeks ago.

“We always realize the first few weekends we go out, we’ll face teams that have already played 20 games,” Salciado said. “That’s fine with us, but our goal is to get out, get playing, start swinging the bat.”

In addition to its Virginia trip, Princeton will make two other significant road swings this year, one to North Carolina in early March and one to California over spring break. After returning to New Jersey, the Tigers will stay a little closer to home as they begin Ivy play and face various area opponents. Princeton plays its home opener against Dartmouth on March 29.