FIRING AWAY: Princeton High pitcher Kayla Volante fires a pitch in a game earlier this season. Senior star Volante has been a stalwart for PHS, handling the pitching duties and batting in the middle of the order. After starting 0-4, the Little Tigers have gotten on the right track, going 5-3 in their next eight games. PHS, now 5-8 after falling 2-0 at Hightstown last Monday, hosts Hightstown on April 26, plays at Robbinsville on April 28, and hosts Hopewell Valley on May 1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

In the first nine days of the season, the Princeton High softball team went 0-4, getting outscored 45-2 in the process.

Things went a lot better in the next nine days as PHS won five of seven games, including a three-game winning streak which saw the Little Tigers pile up 36 runs and give up only two.

PHS head coach Marissa Soprano saw a pair of wins over Trenton (10-0 on April 13 and 15-0 on April 17) as key confidence builders for the Little Tigers.

“We talked to the girls about just taking every inning as it comes and getting the big hits when we needed them,” said Soprano, whose squad topped Hamilton 11-2 on April 18 to make it three straight wins.

“Trenton was a good way to go into the week and then against Hamilton West, they came out swinging which was really good for their confidence.”

After suffering lopsided losses to Notre Dame (15-0) last Wednesday and to Nottingham (16-1) last Thursday, PHS rebounded with a come-from-behind 4-3 win over Allentown last Friday.

“The girls didn’t play as well as we wanted them to on Thursday,” said Soprano.

“We were really happy that they came back and played every single pitch of that game and stayed in it, even when Allentown took a 1-0 lead with a home run. They did phenomenal on Friday.”

The Little Tigers showed resilience a day later as they fell 7-2 to Bogota in the opening round of the John Czeterko Highwaywoman Classic in Teaneck but then came back with a 10-3 win over Dwight-Morrow in a consolation contest.

“We had about a 15-minute break before the second one and we talked to the girls about taking a breather and refocusing for the second game,” said Soprano.

“We were down 2-0 and the girls came back to win it; that was a good way to end the day.”

Junior Bianca Guidi has come up big in recent play, piling up RBIs for the Little Tigers.

“Bianca was pretty hard on herself in the beginning of the season because she wasn’t performing at the plate,” said Soprano of Guidi, who totaled six RBIs in the wins over Trenton.

“She has been a key spot for us in the lineup; she has gotten timely hits and has seen her season improve as we have gone along.”

The return of senior first baseman Nancy Gray from illness has given PHS a lift.

“Nancy has done a nice job,” said Soprano, noting that junior Gillian Nadler and senior Megan Shanahan have been stepping up as well.

“Her first game back was Wednesday with Hamilton West and then on Friday she hit the home run to tie it up for us in the Allentown game.”

Game in, game out, senior Kayla Volante has been a stalwart for PHS with her pitching and hitting.

“Kayla is such a solid performer for us; we almost take it for granted that she is able to pitch every game for us,” said Soprano.

“She pitched a game and half on Saturday, which was really crucial for us. It wasn’t under great conditions because the field was really soft and it was raining pretty much the whole time we were playing.”

Soprano, for her part, believes PHS can keep progressing if it doesn’t take things for granted.

“We are talking to the girls about showing up for every inning and playing to the best of their ability and that is all we can ask,” said Soprano, whose team fell 2-0 to Hightstown last Monday to move to 5-8 and hosts Hightstown on April 26, plays at Robbinsville on April 28, and hosts Hopewell Valley on May 1.

“They have really done a nice job picking up a few wins in a row. They are doing what we have been practicing and we wanted it to translate into the games. Hopefully it will continue to do that this coming week.”