Baseball beats Harvard, wins Ivy League

Head coach Scott Bradley said his team's goal has been to win three out of four games each weekend.

But this weekend, two of out three was more than enough.

Baseball hosted the Ivy League Championship Series at Clarke Field Saturday and Sunday, splitting the first-day doubleheader with Harvard before beating the Crimson in Sunday's winner-take-all game three.

Princeton (27-21 overall, 15-5 Ivy League) won the Ivy League's Lou Gehrig Division and Harvard (20-23, 11-9) took the Red Rolfe Division to reach the playoff.

Princeton used a four-run outburst in the sixth inning to blow by Harvard, 5-2, in the first game of Saturday's double dip.

Senior shortstop Mike Chernoff put the Tigers on the board first when he singled home freshman right fielder Andrew Salini in the second inning.

But Harvard struck back in the sixth when second baseman Zak Farkes led off with a double and later scored on a double by designated hitter Schuyler Mann.

Princeton came out swinging in its half of the sixth. Senior third baseman Jon Miller singled to lead off, then sophomore first baseman Ryan Eldridge walked. Salini followed a strikeout by senior catcher Tim Lahey with a single that scored Miller. A throwing error by the Harvard shortstop then scored Eldridge.

Designated hitter junior Ryan Reich reached on an error, setting the stage for a two-run triple by junior left fielder Eric Fitzgerald.

Senior Ryan Quillian, who pitched a solid game, recorded two outs in the seventh before being replaced by junior Thomas Pauly, the team's top pitcher. Pauly pitched the final 2.1 innings to preserve the win.

With its season on the line, the Crimson responded in game two, scoring early and holding on for a 4-3 win to force a deciding game three.

The Tigers, the visiting team in the middle game, got a run in the top of the first when junior second baseman Steve Young scored on an RBI-groundout by Miller.

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

Sophomore pitcher Ross Ohlendorf got the start and ran into some early trouble. An error and a walk put two runners on with one out. Ohlendorf bounced back and struck out the next batter but gave up a double to third baseman Josh Kilmkiewicz that plated both runners.

Princeton got a run in the third to tie it, but Klimkiewicz bombed a two-run homer in the bottom half to restore the two-run lead. The Tigers scored another run in the fifth but went quietly in the final four innings.

With ominous weather looming, the teams took the field Mother's Day for game three. Again Pauly was the story.

Pauly pitched a complete-game four-hitter and shook off a jittery start, a few miscues in the field, a tough umpire, and seven walks to beat Harvard, 5-2, and earn his team a spot in the NCAA tournament.

"The kid's amazing," Bradley said, speaking of Pauly before he was even asked. "He deserved to be out there. A few things went haywire, he gave up some runs, a couple misplayed balls that could've ended innings. But to be able to regain everything, to pitch well and win is just unreal." With two outs, right fielder Lance Salsgiver singled and center fielder Brian Hale smoked a ball to right that was misplayed and fell in for a double, scoring Salsgiver. First baseman Mike Dukovich followed with an RBI single.

Swinging away

The Princeton bats came alive in the third and fourth innings.

Young reached on an error with one out in the third before consecutive singles by sophomore center fielder B.J. Szymanski and Miller scored him. Eldridge then hit a sacrifice fly to score Szymanski.

Lahey doubled to lead off the fourth then scored on a huge one-out single by Chernoff to give the Tigers their first lead of the game.

"I got up to the plate thinking this could be the last game I ever play," Chernoff said. "I got the right pitch, and it worked out."

Fitzgerald followed with a bunt single down the third-base line before a sacrifice fly by Young moved both runners over and a single by Szymanski scored both.

"We felt we were in a good situation," Bradley said. "As long as we could get to the end, we felt like we had a chance."