By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
This was more than just a win for the Princeton High softball team.
It was a game that ended three years of frustration against Hightstown.
”This is my fourth year as the softball coach,” Princeton coach Craig Haywood explained. “My first three years we had played them four times and we had lost all four games by one run.
”The first year we lost 2-1, then played them again in the Mercer County Tournament and lost, 1-0. The next year they scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat us, 11-10. And then last year they scored three runs in the seventh and beat us, 9-8.”
So this year, when the Little Tigers put together their most complete effort of the season to beat the Rams, 5-1, it was cause for celebration.
”That one as like winning the World Series,” said Haywood, whose team is 1-3 after a 7-0 loss to Allentown on Friday. “We’ve had so many close games against them. It really is a good matchup for us. I think as teams we bring out the best in each other.”
The Little Tigers received some timely hitting, good pitching from Deanna Boehm and error-free defense to record their first win of the year. And with just one senior on the roster, Princeton is looking at wins like this one as a stepping stone to the future.
”We’ve got a pretty young team this year and this was a great game for us because we put it all together,” said Boehm, a junior who has been the Little Tigers’ No. 1 pitcher since she was a freshman. “We’re a 50-50 team sometimes. We have games where we make some errors and don’t hit as well. But when we put it all together, we feel like we can compete in a lot of games.”
The Little Tigers received contributions from a number of sources in the win over Hightstown. Boehm tossed a five-hitter, striking out four and walking just one batter. Clara Maselli drove in two runs to pace the offense, while Hannah Zink, Jessyca Hart and Louise Eisenach each drove in one run. Princeton finished with 10 hits — including two each from Boehm and Eisenach, while not making an error in the field.
”If we keep the errors limited and play hard, we can do well and it is a lot more fun,” Boehm said. “We have a lot of players in new positions and everyone is getting used to it. We have such a young team with just one senior.
”We just want to continue to improve and even if this year we don’t do real well, we still have next year.”
If the Little Tigers put together more efforts like the one against Hightstown, this year could turn out to be a pretty good one as well.
”We only have one senior, Jessyca Hart, and she’s been a very valuable player for us,” Haywood said. “She’s played first and second for us and she can also play shortstop. She is multi-talented. She played centerfield for us against Nottingham.
”But our girls all played well against Hightstown. It was a nice win for us. I think it showed the girls that when we play like that and don’t have many errors we can compete against anybody. Even against Allentown we only had one error and one bad inning. I think we’ve showed a lot of potential at Princeton.”
It also helps to have a pitcher like Boehm, who is now in her third season as a varsity starter.
”Her freshman year she was supposed to be a backup, but then Deanna had to step in right away and she’s been the starter ever since,” Haywood said.
That first year had some growing pains, but each year Boehm gets a little better.
”With more experience, you know what to expect,” she said. “Every year there is something new to learn and work on. I just try to work hard and improve. I rely a lot on my defense and they are the ones who do the work behind me.
”I know I am not the best pitcher out there. There are a lot of people who eat, drink and sleep softball. But I work on a lot of aspects of pitching and I feel like I am getting better. It helps to have a good defense behind me. I depend on them a lot and they do a lot of the work.”
Against Hightstown, there were a number of Little Tigers doing the work, and it resulted in the kind of win the team can build on.

