No matter the opponent, baseball favored to repeat as Ivy champions

After clinching the Gehrig Division title last Friday, the baseball team did not know whom it would play in the Ivy League championships. So it waited to see where it would be playing. And waited. And waited.

But, really, it doesn't matter.

With the 20-17 win over Cornell in the nightcap of last weekend's first doubleheader, the Tigers did something they have been doing all season — determining their own fate. While Princeton could have eked out a sixth-straight Gehrig title with only two Columbia losses, the Tigers instead sent a clear message. Princeton (20-20 overall, 14-6 Ivy League) went 3-1 for the fourth-straight weekend, claiming its best regular season record in recent history, the top Ivy mark and a four-game lead in the standings.

"We won last year, we have the best record this year and we should be the team to beat," said senior first baseman Andrew Hanson. "It's going to be a mental game for us more than anything else."

In the Rolfe divisional standings, however, chaos reigned last weekend. All Dartmouth (20-16, 13-8) needed to do to claim the title was notch a better record for the weekend than Brown (23-23, 12-9) to ensure a berth in the championship. The Big Green did about all it could, beating Harvard, 3-1, in two doubleheaders. But the Bears countered with a 3-1 series win over Yale.

Still, Princeton waited.

Sitting one game behind the idle Big Green, Brown played a makeup doubleheader against Cornell on Wednesday, needing a sweep to claim a tie with Dartmouth in the standings. With 7-1 and 14-5 wins over the Gehrig Division's cellar dweller, the Bears forced a one-game playoff. And still, Princeton waited.

"If we play at Brown, it's a little more risky because they have a smaller park and the wind blows around," Hanson said. "Games have a tendency to turn into a slugfest. I think everyone prefers to play Dartmouth. But then again, Brown would have to win three games to get to us, so they might be a little tired."

But with the way the Tigers have been playing, the opponent does not seem to greatly affect the outcome. Princeton lost no more than one game against any team this season, going 1-1 against the Bears and 2-0 against Dartmouth. Last year, the Tigers found themselves in the role of underdog to the Big Green, who had both the league's best record and best pitcher.

But this season, Princeton sits in that spot. Sophomore righthander Ryan Quillian will start the series, looking to continue a streak of Ivy League domination that has seen him compile a 4-1 league record and five complete games. The bullpen does not even stir with Quillian on the mound.

"[Quillian] has been really dependable," Hanson said. "He hasn't been in a nine-inning game yet, but that will give us a full game to produce some runs without feeling the pressure to score for him early."

Sophomore righthander David Boehle will likely start the second game on Saturday, giving the Tigers a one-two punch that few teams have beaten this season. If necessary, the Tigers will play on Sunday, throwing junior Tom Rowland if he does not appear in relief the previous day.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Even if Princeton does not get the strong pitching it is looking for, it has shown all year that it can win the high scoring games too. The Tigers have had this knack for scoring runs only when they have needed to.

"We're basically a team that has done what it takes to win," Hanson said. "We've won the majority of the close games."

Thus, when Brown traveled to Dartmouth yesterday, Princeton's main concern was more to find out where they would be going for the weekend than whom they would play. The Tigers are the team to beat, the team that has done what it takes to win, the team with the most rest. It is their series to lose.

Dartmouth beat Brown yesterday 7-2, earning the rights to play Princeton for the Ivy League Championship and a berth in the NCAA Regional Tournament. Not that it matters.