A Perfect Debut

There was a time a few decades ago where you could walk from Gulick Field to Lourie-Love Field to Class of 1895 Field, which were the homes of Princeton field hockey, men's and women's soccer and softball. 

If you did so, you wouldn't see any of the following:

* a team room
* indoor plumbing
* a non-wooden seat
* a concession stand
* a concourse, for that matter
* a press box

For those who were never there, a large parking lot used to be where there is now a smaller lot and the neuroscience building, opposite Class of 1952 Stadium — which was back then a place to park tractors and trucks and such. It was a short walk from that large parking lot over to Gulick (the field hockey field) and Lourie-Love (soccer). Then, beyond Lourie-Love sat Class of 1895. 

All three had old, rickety wooden bleachers, no bathrooms and not a single amenity. If you were here when those were the long-time homes of Princeton's teams, you probably feel the same way as TigerBlog. 

They were certainly charming facilities. Princeton certainly did have big moments at all of those fields. They just went the way of a lot of old stadiums in all sports. And now they all have way more modern replacements.

TigerBlog couldn't help but think about the old days as the Princeton softball team opened a new facility, the Cynthia Lynn Paul ’94 Field, which made its debut this weekend as the home of Princeton Softball on the Meadows Campus. It opened in style, with a three-game sweep of Harvard. 

The new field is the first venue for Princeton Athletics named for a female alum. After graduating from Princeton in 1994, Paul would found Lynrock Lake LP, an investment management firm based in Rye Brook, N.Y.

She was also a Princeton softball player during the Class of 1895 Field era, which lasted from the 1980s until 2019. She won an Ivy League championship in 1991. 

She was all smiles when she posed for pictures on her field, and why wouldn't she be? The new facility is amazing, with its glistening turf field, batting cages, restrooms, seating for 300 and press box. 

Unlike 1895 Field and the temporary field at Strubing Field, it was also built with ESPN+ in mind, which means that the broadcasts are also pristine. 

TigerBlog watched the broadcast Sunday. He ha not been to the field yet, so he asked his friend Pattie Friend, whose husband Lloyd was in the Class of 1965 and who is as big a Princeton sports fan as you'll find. She was at the game yesterday, and here is how she described it:

"It's fabulous. It's so comfortable. It's engaging. It just feels right. The seats are great. The views are great. And you're so close to the field. The players know you're there. I didn't find one thing where I said 'oh, I don't like this.' It was like being at Yankee Stadium for free. It was wonderful to be there. I liked the old one, but this is so much better. I can't wait to go back."

Thanks Pattie. That sounds like a good endorsement.

As for the on-field event, it couldn't have gone any better for the Tigers. 

Princeton and Harvard have been the standard for Ivy League softball in recent years and, between the old playoff and the new tournament have been the last two league teams standing the last three years. 

The first regular season games played at the new field were Saturday, when Princeton won 8-0 and 6-0. The first hit was actually a home run, off the bat of the third Tiger to come to the plate, Karis Ford. 

The first winning pitcher was Brielle Wright, who threw a complete game. Cassidy Shaw was the second, also with a complete game shutout. 

Princeton completed the sweep with a third winning pitcher, this time Keala Hollenkamp, who pitched 2.1 innings of one-hit relief as Princeton came from 5-3 down with a four-run fifth and then, after Harvard tied it, with a sacrifice fly from Ford in the bottom of the fifth to make it 9-8. Hollenkamp made it stand up after allowing a two-out double in the seventh before getting a fly ball to end it.

And that was the end of the weekend for Princeton, and the debut of Cynthia Lynn Paul Field. 

It couldn't have been more perfect.