Softball to head down coast to D.C., Maryland for matchups this weekend

The Princeton Women’s Softball team will travel to Washington, D.C. and Maryland to face off twice against George Washington University and once against the University of Maryland in what is shaping up to look like a promising season. The Tigers (3-6) have already played in two tournaments, both in Florida, this season. Princeton has had notable victories over Florida A&M University and the University of Iowa, a member of the Big Ten, while falling to the nationally ranked University of Central Florida by one point.

The Tigers have opened the season playing incredibly well despite injuries on the pitching staff, with top returning junior pitcher Shanna Christian spending limited time on the field and sophomore pitcher Erica Nori sidelined while she recovers. Freshman pitcher Ashley LaGuardia has stepped up to fill the position well, pitching 35 out of 55 innings so far. Two weekends ago, LaGuardia pitched two games on Friday, finishing the day with a scorching 0.72 ERA and pitching a 2.05 ERA over the entire weekend. In fact, LaGuardia played so well that she was named not only Ivy League Pitcher of the Week but she was also named Ivy League Rookie of the Week.

Junior catcher Skye Jerpbak also received Ivy League recognition last weekend and was named Ivy League Player of the Week after batting an absurdly high .636 on the weekend, leaving her with the highest batting average on the team so far this season at .391. Five Tigers with double-figure at-bats are hitting at or above .300, with sophomore infielder Haley Hineman following close behind Jerpbak with a .348 average. Hineman finished last season with the highest batting average on the team, .307. Senior infielder/outfielder Rachel Rendina, senior catcher/firstbaseman Cara Worden, and junior firstbaseman Emily Viggers follow close behind, with .310, .308 and .300 averages, respectively. Junior firstbaseman/thirdbaseman Kayla Bose, senior firstbaseman/thirdbaseman Sarah McGowan and sophomore pitcher Claire Klausner all have been batting above .300 as well, but all three have been at bat less than seven times this season.

George Washington (10-8 as of March 12) is on a five game hot streak, and will likely be a tough opponent. Four players have batting averages above .300, while pitchers Paige Kovalsky and Sarah Costlow have ERAs of 2.85 on 39.1 innings and 3.28 on 64.0 innings, respectively.

Maryland (14-9) is coming off of a loss against James Madison University last weekend, but will also likely be a difficult opponent. Three batters have averages over .300, led by Hannah Dewey, who has batted an incredible .394 on 66 at bats. The Maryland pitching staff is led by Kaitlyn Schmeiser, who has an ERA of 2.12 on 95.2 innings.

The games against George Washington will be held at 2 P.M. and 4 P.M. on Sunday in Washington, D.C., while the game against Maryland will be held at 11 A.M. on Monday in College Park.