Three years earlier, second baseman Steve Young, now a senior, had stepped into the very same batter's box in Hanover, N.H., with the situation identical.
Freshman second baseman Aaron Prince knew the story well. Young, his mentor, had told him a week before. But as Prince strode to the plate late Saturday afternoon, the eerily similar circumstances were the last thing on his mind.
Like Young, Prince was an unheralded freshman seeing his first Ivy League Championship Series action. Like Young, Prince entered the game as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the ninth and scored the game-tying run. Like Young, Prince now had a chance to win the game — and the Ivy title — with his bat in the bottom of the 10th.
And, like Young, Prince delivered a walk-off hit.
With the bases loaded and one out, he lined a first-pitch fastball into left field. When it just barely eluded the outstretched glove of Dartmouth's diving drawn-in left fielder, sophomore right fielder Andrew Salini trotted home, giving Princeton (27-18 overall, 12-8 Ivy League) a 5-4 game two victory.
"I was just trying to put the ball in the outfield," Prince said. "You don't think about the similarities when you're at the plate; you just try to win the game."
With the victory, the Tigers won the best-of-three series, 2-0, clinching their second straight Ivy title and trip to the NCAA tournament. Dartmouth (25-17, 15-5) entered as the slight favorite, but Princeton cruised in game one earlier in the day, winning 14-3.
A hot start
The Tigers jumped ahead, 4-0, after four innings in game one, as junior Ross Ohlendorf easily dispatched Big Green hitters en route to nine strikeouts in seven innings. But control problems in the fifth let Dartmouth push across a run.
Senior first baseman Ryan Reich made the score 6-1 with a two-run homer in the sixth, but Dartmouth got both runs back after loading the bases in the bottom of the frame as Ohlendorf continued to labor.
Still, all day long he managed to avoid a damaging big inning, stranding 11 runners. And junior closer Brian Kappel shut the door with a perfect eighth and ninth.
The Tiger offense provided some unneeded cushion in the top of the ninth, converting five hits and three errors into eight runs.
With its back against the wall, the Big Green regrouped for game two. Playing as the visiting team, Dartmouth scored first in the top of the third thanks to three straight well-placed two-out singles. The Big Green then pulled ahead 3-0 with two unearned runs in the fourth.
Princeton loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fourth, but only managed to scratch out two runs before Dartmouth hurler Josh Faiola ended the rally. Unlike the earlier contest, it was the Tigers who spent much of game two stranding runners in scoring position.
The Big Green added one more unearned run in the fifth, pulling ahead, 4-2. But freshman pitcher Gavin Fabian, again demonstrating remarkable control in not issuing a single free pass in eight innings of work, regrouped and did not allow another run, keeping hope alive.
"He kept his chin up and pitched real well under the circumstances," Ohlendorf said. "I think he's better than I was as a freshman."
After Princeton closed the deficit to 4-3 in the eighth against a tiring Faiola, the Big Green asked closer Nicholas Peay to shut the door.
He couldn't.
Freshman third baseman Sal Iacono led off the bottom of the ninth with a double. Reich and Young followed with back-to-back singles, scoring Prince, who was pinch-running for Iacono.
With the winning run on second and nobody out in the inning, the Tigers seemed poised for the knockout blow, but that was not to be. Princeton botched the sacrifice bunt attempt, and a ground-ball double play followed to send the contest into extra innings.
Dartmouth would make one final push in the top of the 10th, loading the bases with two outs against freshman reliever Eric Walz. With no margin for error, the Tigers again turned to Kappel.
Despite the pressure, Kappel was confident he could get the out he needed because he had punched out batter Andrew Nacario in the first game.
"I just felt awesome all day long. Everything was working for me," Kappel said. "The last thing you want to do is walk in the run, so I just tried to make my pitch."
The approach worked — Kappel caught Nacario looking at a third-strike fastball, swinging momentum back to the Princeton dugout.
The Tigers wasted no time in loading the bases with two singles and a walk in the bottom of the 10th. A strikeout momentarily delayed the inevitable.
It was only fitting, after all, that Prince would be the man to end the game.
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