Baseball team takes break from Ivy schedule, prepares for Pace

With the Ivy League season coming down to the wire, the baseball team puts it all on the line this weekend when it takes on:

Pace University?

The Tigers (16-18 overall, 11-5 Ivy League) and the aptly-named Setters (10-25) square off in a doubleheader Saturday at Clarke Field before a Sunday finale at Pace. The series is part of a five-game midseason break from Ivy League action for Princeton.

"It's unusual for us to have a non-Ivy League opponent for a weekend series in the middle of our Ivy League season," senior co-captain Pat Boran said, "but we are looking at this series as an opportunity to continue to improve as a team."

Bradley's Tigers dominated in Harlem last weekend, winning three out of four at Columbia and taking control of the Ivy League's Lou Gehrig Division. But as the conference season winds down, the team turns its focus not to its final four conference games but a three-game tango with:

You guessed it. Pace University.

Fresh off a 13-1 drubbing of non-conference foe Monmouth Wednesday night, Princeton still sees a divine purpose to this weekend's action.

"Hopefully we can use this weekend to become an over-.500 team," sophomore pitcher Thomas Pauly said, "and to get our offense and defense working on all four cylinders as we roll into our last two weekends of Ivy League play."

To achieve that goal, the Tigers will need to find their bats, a relatively easy task to accomplish against the Setters thus far this season. Pace has given up five or more runs in 26 of 37 games played this season and has allowed ten or more runs 14 times.

Saying that either team's pitching is top-quality would be as inappropriate as Keanu Reeves winning an Oscar, but Princeton clearly holds the edge in the bullpen. The Setters have an ERA three runs higher than do the Tigers — 8.30 for Pace, just 5.30 for Princeton — and Pace has allowed 100 more hits and 84 more runs in two fewer innings than Princeton.

The batting statistics, however, are much more even. Both teams have totals in batting average (Princeton .275, Pace .274), runs scored (194, 198), hits (319, 319), runs batted in (169, 165), strikeouts (248, 246), and on-base percentage (.352, .347) that are all essentially equal at this point in the season.

Pauly headlines the Princeton bullpen. His 1.35 ERA, eight saves and 15 appearances are all team-highs. Freshman Ross Ohlendorf has emerged as the team's key starter. His 3.03 ERA, four wins, and 32 strikeouts are all tops among Tiger starters.

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Boran and freshman Adam Balkan lead the way behind the plate. Balkan's .320 batting average, 41 hits, 20 walks, and .411 OBP are all team-highs. Boran is second in all those categories—with a .310 average, 40 hits, 16 walks, and .392 OBP—and leads the team with 27 RBI.

Though they are not looking past these non-conference games, both Boran and Pauly are anxious for the four-game season finale against Cornell which will decide Princeton's fate in the Ivy League playoffs.

"We have been playing well the past few games, and we want to keep it going," Boran said. "So, even though we have a chance to relax this weekend (playing a non-Ivy opponent), we want to remain focused and keep this rhythm we have going as a team. If we do this, the wins will take care of themselves and, most importantly, we will be ready for our series versus Cornell."

"Playing at 100 percent and with confidence will be crucial if we want to win the Ivies again this year," Pauly said. "And hopefully, if we sweep Cornell, we can play the championship series home at Princeton."