This season comes to a close this weekend for the softball team with two days of doubleheaders against a strong Ivy League competitor in Cornell.
Since Princeton (11-29 overall, 5-11 Ivy League) will not make this year's Ivy League playoffs, this weekend will be its last weekend of play this season, and the last for the team's four seniors.
Cornell (30-11, 14-2) has a lot riding on this game, as it is hopes to clinch the Ivy South title and earn the right to host the Ivy League championship at home. Cornell currently sits four games ahead of Penn, another contender for the Ivy South title. The Big Red is also one game ahead of Harvard, the leading team in the Ivy North division.
While the Tigers realize that this is their last game and there is no chance for a championship run, they are still optimistic and looking to go out and compete at the highest level.
“At this point, being out of the Ivy League championship, and it being my last year on the softball field, all we're really concerned with is having fun playing the sport we all know and love,” senior outfielder Kelsey Quist said. “It doesn't get much better than that.”
The Tigers' one weakness this weekend will be their pitching, since two of their four pitchers are out. This shortage leaves Princeton with only two pitchers for four games this weekend, and could give Cornell an offensive advantage because it will be able to read the pitches, and because there will not be an option for relief pitching.
“We will have to throw each of our pitchers twice,” Quist explained.
Princeton will be counting on senior infielder Collette Abbott, one of the team's top hitters, to produce some big hits this weekend to rival Cornell’s pitching staff, headed by Elizabeth Dalrymple.
While Cornell does have a strong pitching staff and an all-around team that will make playing four games against the Big Red difficult, the four-game series provides certain advantages for the Tigers as well.
“Playing a team four times in a row is difficult, no doubt. Especially a team like Cornell, a very high-caliber program. The most important strategy we have as a team when playing an opponent four times in a row is to constantly make positive adjustments,” Quist said. “The advantage to playing a team so frequently is that we normally face pitchers we've already seen, giving us an offensive advantage.”
Yet despite these advantages, Princeton knows the Big Red is a tough opponent.
“Cornell is a strong team all-around, in every area of the game,” Quist said. “They have always been one of our toughest opponents, and they continue to put forth their best showing both offensively and defensively when paired against us.”
This weekend is bittersweet for the seniors, who will be recognized on Sunday. Quist expressed her gratitude for her team and the game at Princeton.
“It will probably be an emotional weekend for us seniors, but hopefully a happy one,” the senior infielder said. “We have a lot to look forward to in our future endeavors and our team has a bright future ahead of them. Most of all I will miss my teammates and all the fun memories we shared together.”
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