Although the regular season for Major League Baseball does not start until Sunday, the unofficial spring training for the Tigers ends Saturday as they host Yale for a doubleheader at Clarke Field to begin the defense of their Ivy League Championship.
The Elis (9-7 overall) come into the game on fire, having won eight of their last nine games including a 1-0 thriller over Connecticut on Wednesday.
Princeton (5-11) is coming off a close Wednesday game of its own, as the Tigers held off a ninth inning Rutgers rally to take the game, 3-2.
Both Yale and Princeton started the season similarly, traveling to the South over spring break and facing tough competition with limited success. Both teams have rebounded recently, though the Elis can claim a more noticeable improvement.
All about pitching
For the Tigers, success in the game will largely depend on its starting pitchers. The Princeton hurlers will need to shut down the Yale offense in order to put the Tigers in a position to win.
Starting pitching has been the difference between victory and defeat for Princeton all season long this year, as the Tigers are a perfect 4-0 when holding their opponents to two runs or fewer.
But Princeton will be throwing its two best pitchers at the Elis: junior Erik Stiller and sophomore Gavin Fabian. They share identical 2-1 records, and both have been downright stingy against opposing hitters, with earned run averages of 2.74 and 3.46, respectively.
Stiller enters the weekend with confidence garnered from a complete-game shutout over Stony Brook last Saturday, a game in which he scattered five hits over eight innings.
Despite the Tigers' pitching talent, Yale has a deeper staff with even gaudier numbers.
With four pitchers with ERAs under three, the Elis have many options who they can send to face the balanced Princeton offensive unit.
The Tigers will probably face Josh Sowers, who is 2-0 with a 1.05 ERA in the first game, and either Alec Smith (2-1, 2.05) or Jon Hollis (3-0, 2.82) in game two. Either of the latter two hurlers would be available in relief if he does not start, a formidable late-game option to complement closer Brett Rosenthal, who is 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA and one save.
Offensive advantage
While Yale may have superior pitching, Princeton has a decided advantage on offense.
Overall, the Tigers have outhit the Elis, with 152 and 138 hits, respectively, driven in more runs, 77 to 55, and hit more home runs, 17 to nine.
The Princeton offense is anchored by a burgeoning Murderers' Row: senior outfielder Will Venable, junior designated hitter Ryan Eldridge and junior outfielder Andrew Salini.
Venable leads the team with a .438 batting average and is second in both home runs (three) and RBIs (11). Salini's batting average of .424 is good for second, and he also has three home runs. Eldridge leads the team in both homeruns (5) and RBIs (19) and is third with a .351 batting average.
Yale does have some weapons, with three players hitting above .300. But the Elis' two main power hitters, outfielders John Janco and C.J. Orrico, have batting averages hovering around .260.
In the end, it will come down to which team plays to its strengths — pitching for Yale and hitting for the Tigers — and controls the pace of the game.
Princeton continues Ivy League play the following weekend when the Tigers square off against Brown at Clarke Field.
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