When the first pitch of the baseball team's season is thrown out Saturday at noon in Richmond, Va., the Tigers will be standing on a field located just a little over 50 miles away from where their season ended last June.
But the Orange and Black lineup will be very different from the one that the University of Virginia knocked out of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Gone are four of Princeton's most valuable players, all taken in last June's major league draft — the senior co-captains, catcher Tim Lahey and second baseman Steve Young, and the junior phenoms, pitcher Ross Ohlendorf and center fielder B.J. Szymanski.
Before they left, those four, along with outfielder Will Venable who was also drafted but chose to return for his senior year, led the Tigers to one of their most successful seasons in recent memory. Princeton finished, 28-20, just one win short of its all-time high, set in 1985.
"It will be very difficult to fill out a lineup card without Young, Szymanski and Lahey," head coach Scott Bradley said. "Having five players drafted in the first 20 rounds of last year's draft may never happen again around here."
In truth, great success — as well as players being drafted — is becoming a habit for the Tigers. In the nine years Bradley, a former major league catcher, has been at the helm, Princeton has won nine straight Gehrig Divison titles and five Ivy crowns, including four of the last five. Not surprisingly, the senior class of 2004 graduated having won more games over its four years — 99 — than any class in University history.
But despite the losses, the prognosis is bright for this year's squad. The remaining Tigers may be young, but, given the tradition of success they've observed, they refuse to set a goal of anything less than another Ivy crown.
"We're really looking forward to the challenges that this season will present our team with," sophomore pitcher Gavin Fabian said. "We have our hands full with a young pitching staff, and losing last year's draft picks hurts. Fortunately, we have a habit of getting it done, and that's what we plan on doing."
After being led by an extremely talented group of individual athletes last year — Szymanski and Young were first and second in batting average, Ohlendorf first in the win column and Lahey first in home runs — this season's focus will be placed on putting out a consistently strong team effort.
On the mound
"This year is going to be about teamwork, chemistry, making the big plays and winning the close games," Fabian said. "It's going to be about a team, not players, putting up the W's."
Much of the burden will fall on Fabian's shoulders. With Ohlendorf toiling away in the minor leagues, Fabian is now the unquestioned ace of the Princeton pitching staff.
He finished his freshman year with a solid 4-3 record and a 3.48 GPA. Relying on pinpoint control rather than trying to overpower batters, Fabian remarkably walked just four batters in a team-leading 75 innings of work. The numbers were good enough to make him the winner of the New Jersey College Baseball Association's Rookie of the Year honors, and he was also recently named as a preseason All-Conference selection by Baseball America.
Behind Fabian will be two other returning starters from last year's staff. Junior Erik Stiller and sophomore Eric Walz were both effective last season, posting 4-4 and 3-3 records, respectively..
Two less experienced hurlers, sophomore Willis Sweeney and freshman Christian Staehely, will fight for the fourth and final spot in the rotation — Ivy teams play a pair of doubleheaders four games per weekend. Whoever ends up as the odd-man-out will be start midweek games and appear in long relief.
If the Tigers' staff has a weakness, it's a shortage of southpaw. Senior middle reliever Worth Lumry will be Princeton's top lefty out of the pen, and fellow lefty sophomore Michael Zaret will also be called upon for situational matchups. Senior Chad Tongue and freshman submariner Reid Peyton will provide middle relief from the right side.
When the Tigers have made it through the middle innings with the lead the last few seasons, they've rarely lost. Senior Brian Kappel emerged as a nearly unhittable closer last season, picking up where Thomas Pauly '04 left off when he signed with the Cincinnati Reds after his junior season. Kappel, who recorded three wins and nine saves last season, may well be the top closer in the Ivy League this season.
At the plate
The Tiger offense and defense will be led by an extremely talented outfield. Senior Will Venable, another preseason All-Ivy selection, senior Adam Balkan and junior Andrew Salini are all capable of covering plenty of ground and will be very difficult to run on. They also pose significant threats at the plate, as all three hit above .340. With Szymanski gone, Salini slides into centerfield, with Balkan in left and Venable in right.
"Our outfield will be one of the best in the northeast," Bradley said. "They will also have to carry the load offensively."
The right side of the infield will have two new starters. Last year's first baseman, Ryan Reich '04 has graduated, so either junior Ryan Eldridge — who was not in school last year — or junior Stephen Wendell will take over at first.
Sophomore Aaron Prince fills Young's spot at second and, like Young, will be counted on as a catalyst at the top of the lineup. After seeing very little playing time last season, Prince came up huge in the Ivy League Championship Series last May, delivering the game-winning hit against Dartmouth that handed Princeton the Ivy crown.
The left side of the infield returns intact, with steady junior Matt Becker at shortstop and sophomore Sal Iacono at third. Senior Paul Ackerman will provide depth in the infield, as well as frequently filling the designated hitter spot in the lineup.
Junior Zack Wendkos takes over for Lahey behind the plate, though Iacono and Wendos will flip positions occasionly.
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