ARMED FORCE: Princeton University softball player Kelsey VandeBergh whips the ball to first base in recent action. Senior third baseman VandeBergh came up big last weekend as the Tigers went 3-1 in doubleheaders at Yale and Brown, pounding out two homers with five RBIs. In upcoming action, Princeton, now 9-20 overall and 5-3 Ivy League, hosts LaSalle (6-26 overall) for a doubleheader on April 12 before two critical home doubleheaders against Ivy rival Penn (20-13 overall, 5-3 Ivy) on April 14 and 15. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

In 2011, the Princeton University softball team got off to a 4-4 start in Ivy League play only to go into a tailspin that saw it lose nine of its last 12 league contests.

This spring, Princeton has gotten off to a similar start in league play, posting a 5-3 mark after going 3-1 last weekend by sweeping a doubleheader at Yale on Friday before splitting a twinbill at Brown the next day.

As Princeton head coach Trina Salcido assesses her club, she doesn’t believe last year’s history is going to repeat itself.

“I think we are peaking at the right time, the No. 1-to-6 hitters are solid and we are starting to get help from the 7-8-9 hitters,” said Salcido, whose team is 9-20 overall and will host a doubleheader against LaSalle on April 12.

“The two junior pitchers (Liza Kuhn and Alex Peyton) are clicking and they are working well with both of our younger catchers (freshman Cara Worden and sophomore Maddie Cousens). I am really pleased with that. I feel the confidence level is better than last year.”

The Tigers came out confidently against Yale, scoring a pair of runs in the second and fourth innings to take a 4-1 lead.  Princeton tacked on two more runs in the seventh on the way to a 6-3 victory. In the nightcap, the Tigers jumped out to leads of 3-0 and 6-2 and held off the Bulldogs to post a 6-4 win.

“We started well at Yale,” said Salcido, who got two hits apiece from Kelsey VandeBergh, Tory Roberts, and Cousens in the opener with Peyton going 3-for-4 in the nightcap. “We hit in multiple innings; that builds confidence.”

The Tigers carried that confidence into the opener at Brown, pounding out eight hits with VandeBergh and Roberts each getting two RBIs in a 6-5 win, which saw Princeton score two runs in the top of the seventh to fight back from a 5-4 deficit. In Game 2, the Tigers had nine hits but couldn’t string together a big rally as they lost 2-1 in 11 innings.

“We closed out the first game at Brown; we could have done better in the second game,” said Salcido.

“Neither team scored until the 10th inning. We had opportunities all the way through. We talk about focus all the way through, you can’t wait until the late innings. There has to be a sense of urgency to get on the board first. When you let someone hang around, anything can happen.”

“Our two seniors have done a great job, leading by example,” asserted Salcido.

“They are taking full advantage of every inning of every game. They come out and work hard everyday in practice. They are not letting any moment slip away.”

While Salcido feels that her club has let a couple of wins slip away in Ivy play, she is not dwelling on what might have been.

“I would love to be sitting square with Cornell at 7-1; at 5-3, we have lost a little bit of control over things,” said Salcido, whose team is tied with Penn for second place in the Ivy’s South Division behind Cornell.

“The control we do have is to take one game at a time and not look at the big picture. We have to play our game. The hitters need to make adjustments and the pitchers need to stay sharp.”

The Tigers will need to be sharp this weekend as they host critical doubleheaders against Penn (20-13 overall, 5-3 Ivy) on Saturday and Sunday.

“They have a great freshman pitcher,” said Salicido, referring to Alexis Borden, who is 12-4 with a 1.43 ERA.

“They do a good job of really getting up for Ivy divisional play; you know that they are always going to be great competitors.”