Seniors Cecily Gordon and Annie Dell’Aria provide power out of the middle of the lineup, and will have plenty of chances to knock in speedy table-setter Lauren Stefanchik.
The sophomore double-play combination of Lauren Brown and Julia Kidder steady the defense up the middle and young gun Danielle Kerper looks to be the Crimson’s slugger of the future.
The Quakers are the very picture of inexperience and youth, with only three upperclassmen on a roster with 12 sophomores and six freshmen. That being said, Penn really has nowhere to go but up, and could take some unsuspecting opponents by surprise.
The Quakers dropped an Ivy double-header to Princeton on Tuesday, but its rookies continued to show encouraging poise and ability.
Freshman second baseman Annie Kinsey leads the team with a .379 average and Christina Khosravi is right behind her at .362, while freshman righty Ann Ferracane has grabbed most of the starts in the circle and battled to a 2.62 ERA.
If the non-league season is any indication, Princeton appears to be the class of the Ivy League. The team returns seven starters in the field and four pitchers, and has posted by far the most impressive results of the Ivy squads, jumping out to a 19-7 record.
Junior pitcher Erin Snyder, along with impressive freshman Kristen Schaus, headlines a lights-out corps of hurlers that has posted a stunning 1.27 team ERA so far. Snyder twirled a perfect game in the Tigers’ home opener against Fairfield on March 29 and stands at 10-2 with a microscopic 0.79 ERA and 117 strikeouts.
On offense, senior outfielder Melissa Finley has been punishing the ball all spring—good for .716 slugging percentage—and anchors a dangerous Princeton lineup.
The Bulldogs have lost some of their bite in 2005. A formerly pitching-heavy team, Yale lost some of its top hurlers to graduation and return an unsteady lineup from last season’s .500 team.
Junior Peggy Hunt is the ace of the staff, with a 2.41 ERA and two shutouts through the early going. Hunt is reinforced by junior southpaw Ashley Linnenbank and sophomore Jessica Meyer, and the group will be relied upon to keep the Bulldogs in games.
Junior captain Chelsea Kanyer and senior catcher Kristy Kwiatkowski pace the Yale offense and hope to keep the Bulldogs in the middle of the pack.