“We’re just looking at it as any other weekend,” senior pitcher Kristen Schaus said. “[We’re] going with the same frame of mind, the same goals, the same work ethic.”
This is not, however, just another weekend. Princeton travels to Cornell for a doubleheader today and hosts the Big Red for another pair Sunday. Sunday will be Senior Day and Alumnae Day at Class of 1895 Field. Besides being the last of the regular season, this weekend will determine the Ivy South champion. The winner will go on to host Harvard ? the Ivy North champion ? next weekend for the overall Ivy title and a spot in the NCAA tournament. If the teams split victories today and Sunday, then an extra game will be held at Princeton on Monday.
Cornell and Princeton have clearly shared league domination, but the Big Red seems to hold a slight statistical advantage. In Ivy play, Cornell comes in first to Princeton’s second in team batting average, RBI, hits and runs scored. The Tigers top the Big Red in pitching, however, with a 2.44 team ERA.
When it comes to individual batting averages, the teams combine for spots two through eight on the Ivy list. Princeton sophomore pitcher/first baseman Jamie Lettire comes in second overall, hitting .491 against league competition, while Cornell’s Ashley Wolf trails just behind with .435. Lettire also leads the league in hits with 26. The Tigers can boast the top three sluggers, as Lettire, sophomore outfielder Kelsey Quist and junior infielder and co-captain Kathryn Welch hold the top slugging percentages.
After burying itself in a 3-17 hole at the start of the season, Princeton has pulled it together in recent weeks.
“I think individually we have all dug deeper and found ourselves a little bit better,” Schaus said. “That allowed us to come together more as a team and start winning games … We’ve really pushed ourselves, and I think that’s a really good thing. We haven’t peaked yet.”
If Princeton can spark its offense before Cornell lands on the scoreboard, then the Tigers will be in good shape. Princeton is 2-15 this season when its opponent has scored first and 0-16 when scoring two runs or fewer, but the team is 20-5 when sending home more than two runners.
For seniors Schaus and co-captain catcher Beth Dalmut, losses this weekend would end their collegiate softball careers.
“Everything is within our control this weekend,” Schaus said. “The pressure is there, but it definitely makes it more meaningful … [it’s great] to be able to celebrate your softball career along with playing games that mean so much.”
Dalmut echoes the sentiment, citing the pressure as a positive.
“I really have nothing to lose,” Dalmut said. “I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old, so these next few weeks are my last shot at just swinging the bat and really enjoying the game I’ve loved for so long.”
If the Tigers can pull out three wins over Cornell this weekend, Dalmut will earn the right to swing the bat a few more times against Harvard.
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