MATCHING UP: Princeton High softball player Angela Matchum throws the ball in recent action. The play of senior outfielder Matchum has helped tighten up the PHS defense as the Little Tigers have gotten off to an 8-8 start. PHS, which fell 9-8 to Hightstown last Monday, hosts Nottingham on May 2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

While the Princeton High softball team produced an encouraging 6-5 start, the squad has yet to prove that it can beat the elite teams in the area.

After falling to such powers as Robbinsville, Allentown, and Steinert, PHS was looking for a breakthrough when it hosted WW/P-S last Wednesday.

Through five innings, the Little Tigers were right there with the twice-beaten Pirates, trailing just 3-0.

But in the top of the sixth, PHS gave up four runs on the way to a 9-0 defeat.

PHS head coach Dave Boehm was frustrated by his team’s sloppiness in the setback.

“We had too many walks today and too many errors,” said Boehm. “It is a tough loss, they are a good team but we weren’t really a threat to them today. That girl is a good pitcher; she throws hard, she throws inside and outside.”

Although PHS has been on the outside looking in against the top teams, it has shown it can be a threat on most days.

“We have played some real good games and then we have a game like today where we had five good innings and then the wheels came off,” said Boehm, noting that freshman Sarah Eisenach and junior Charlotte Gray have developed into an effective one-two pitching tandem.

“We have to knock off one of those big teams. We have got to beat a big boy on the block but we are not going to do it when we make that many mistakes.”

In Boehm’s view, the Little Tigers need to be more aggressive to get over the hump.

“They have to have more confidence; they have to get their bats off of their shoulders,” said Boehm.

“The one inning today where we put the bat on the ball, they made good contact.”

The play of junior star outfielder Marisa Gonzalez has given PHS plenty of confidence as she was hitting at a .595 clip through the team’s first 12 games.

“Marisa is making plays for us,” asserted Boehm of Gonzalez, who passed the 100-hit mark in her career last Saturday as the Little Tigers beat Ridgefield 8-4 and Teaneck 15-3 to win the Teaneck  Highwaywoman Tournament.

“She can make things happen. If we are going to push a run across, we have to get her on base or she has to drive it in.”

All in all, good things are happening for a PHS program that is on the rise.

“For the most part, I am happy with the way the team has played,” said Boehm, whose team hosts Nottingham on May 2.

“They have just got to get it through their heads that they can make the plays and hang with these teams. I think sometimes in the past teams would come off the bus and we knew we were beat. That hasn’t happened this year; it’s a good team.”