Tigers prepare for Ivy League opponents with strong Spring Break showing

The Princeton women’s softball team emerged from a hefty spring break schedule with a record of 7-12 after two tournaments and series against Georgetown University and George Mason University. In their first tournament, the Tigers had both games against George Washington canceled due to rain, and then suffered a tough 5-6 loss to a strong University of Maryland team. The team then travelled to Georgetown (12-15) to play a doubleheader. The Tigers split the series, winning the first game 5-0 before falling in the second game 2-6. Freshman pitcher Ashley LaGuardia threw an impressive two-hit shutout in the first game, recording her second shutout of the season with the other coming against North Florida University in February. LaGuardia was later named Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Week for her performances.

The next day the Tigers travelled down to Virginia for another doubleheader, this time against George Mason (6-14). Both games were defensive battles, which Princeton lost 1-2 and 0-1, with the Tigers' lone run coming from a solo home run from junior Skye Jerpbak. Junior pitcher Shanna Christian and sophomore pitcher Claire Klausner both pitched excellently in the first game, while LaGuardia again played very well in the night game. LaGuardia leads the team with an ERA of 3.02.

Finally, the Tigers competed in the Liberty Tournament in Lynchburg, Va., playing five games over a three-day span. The team posted a 3-2 record in the tournament, with wins over Rider University, North Carolina Central University and Toledo University, and losses to Kent State University and Liberty University. Both were once again heartbreaking one run losses, 0-1 against Kent State and 1-2 versus Liberty. Seven of the team's twelve losses now come from one run games, highlighting the competitiveness of the team this season.

The Tigers now have one game against Monmouth University on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. before they begin Ivy League play. The two teams have not played each other since 2003, and Monmouth is currently 3-11 on the season. Entering the game, junior Emily Viggers leads the team with a .316 batting average, while Jerpbak is hot on her heels with a .304 average. LaGuardia leads the pitching front with a 3.02 ERA, and has currently almost half of the teams total innings. The return of star junior pitcher Shanna Christian from injury is helping to ease that load. Christian currently has an ERA of 3.73, having pitched 20.2 innings to LaGuardia’s 60.1.

After Monmouth, the Tigers will begin their competitive Ivy League schedule with a doubleheader versus Yale at home on Friday, and another doubleheader against Brown on Saturday. The games will be played at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. on Friday, and then 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Yale enters the game with a record of 3-7, having already had nine of their games cancelled. Brown is currently 4-6, but will have played four more games before coming to Princeton. The two doubleheaders will be a great challenge for the Tigers, and will show a lot about where they stand in the Ivy League.