The Tigers, who managed only three wins in their first 20 matchups, are coming off a weekend in which they swept doubleheaders against Dartmouth and Harvard. It was the third-straight season that the Tigers have started league play with a 4-0 record.
“Our spring break games didn’t really count for anything, except for experience and getting to play more games and getting to play outside,” sophomore outfielder Kelsey Quist said. “Our Ivy League games really count, and we have to win those in order to get to the regional games … This is the real thing, we have to win these games.”
There is much more at stake during this second half of the season, but Princeton ? which won the Ivy title in 2005 and 2006 ? has a history of responding well in Ivy play.
“There’s actually a lot more pressure because we have such a limited number of games and every game really counts,” junior infielder Kathryn Welch said. “While there’s pressure, it’s also our time to shine.”
The Tigers currently have a team batting average of .242, which ranks above only Dartmouth among the Anceint Eight. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, hold the second-highest average at .287, and the Bears are in the middle of the rankings at .274.
Quist currently leads Princeton’s offense, batting .343 with 18 RBI and six home runs. Welch’s five homers make her one of the team’s main power sources.
In the circle, senior pitcher Kristen Schaus is still dominating the Ivy League with 115 strikeouts.
The Tigers will have to face the top three Ivy batters this weekend. Brown, despite its poor record, boasts two of the league’s best hitters. Princeton will have to watch out for catcher Linnea Anderson, who leads the Ivies with a .462 batting average, and third baseman Amy Baxter, who hits .395 and ranks third. Outfielder Ashley Sloan is the Bulldogs’ prime threat. Sloan is batting .397 and has stolen nine bases this season at the top of Yale’s lineup.
“We’ll have to … play sharp defense,” Welch said. “[Last] weekend we showed that we can come together as a team to hit well, get the outs and get it done, and that’s what we need to do this weekend.”
Yale is trying to rebound after dropping a pair of games to Fairfield on Wednesday. These two losses ruined the Bulldogs’ winning overall record but did not affect their position atop the Ivy North standings.
Brown is relatively inexperienced, as it has only played 13 games this season while both Princeton and Yale have taken the field 24 times. Currently, the Bears are on a four-game losing streak after dropping doubleheaders to Columbia and Penn last weekend.
For the Tigers, the key will be to maintain their momentum from last weekend.
“As far as Yale and Brown go, as long as we keep doing what we’re doing ? getting timely hits and holding them defense-wise ? we should be fine,” Quist said.
If the Tigers can keep their minds focused and channel the same energy from last weekend, they will be tough to beat.
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