Tigers fall short of ILCS

A postseason isn't in the cards for the baseball team this year, as it split a four-game weekend series with Cornell. The Big Red's two wins were good enough to put them on top of the Gehrig Division of the Ivy League for good.

Going into the weekend, the Tigers' only hope for a place in the Ivy League Championship Series was to take three of four from Cornell. This outcome would have secured an appearance in the ILCS for the 10th consecutive year. After losing the first game 5-3, Princeton sandwiched a 4-3 loss in between 8-3 and 7-6 wins.

Friday consisted of a home doubleheader at Clarke Field. The first matchup pitted sophomore hurler Gavin Fabian against Cornell's Tad Bardenwerper. Fabian cruised through the first two innings but ran into serious trouble in the third, as he surrendered five runs and allowed the Big Red take the lead.

The Tigers mounted a small comeback in the fifth, when with one out, sophomore third baseman Sal Iacono ripped a single up the middle to get the rally started. He advanced to second on an infield single by junior catcher Zack Wendkos. Iacono then scored on a bloop single by sophomore shortstop Matthew Becker.

Sophomore second baseman Aaron Prince was then plunked to load up the bases for senior centerfielder Will Venable. Venable took advantage and came through, driving a single to centerfield to score two. The two runs batted in were the first of seven on a big day for Venable.

The rally brought the score to 5-3, but Princeton was not able to get any closer, and Cornell took the victory.

With the Tigers in a must-win situation after the loss, Friday's nightcap eventually went Princeton's way.

The Big Red jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead after the first, however. Princeton closed the gap a little in its own half of the inning, as Prince, who was on second after a leadoff double, was plated on an RBI single by Venable.

The Tigers cut the deficit to one in the third, when Venable launched a solo homer to deep right centerfield to make the score 3-2. The round-tripper was the eighth of year for the senior.

The score remained at that mark until Venable's spot in the lineup came up again in the fifth. With Wendkos on first after being hit by a pitch, Venable again went deep to right field for his second homer of the day and ninth on the season.

The dinger made the score 4-3 and put the Tigers up for good. Venable wasn't done, however, as he was responsible for an insurance run in the seventh. He drove in Becker on his fourth hit of the day and fifth RBI.

Just for good measure, Princeton added three more in the eighth to make the final score 8-3.

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The teams had Saturday off as both traveled north to Ithaca for Sunday's games. The Tigers were in a must-win situation, as a loss would mean elimination from post-season contention.

The first game was scoreless for the first two innings, until Princeton made the first move in the third. Prince reached on fielder's choice, then stole second. He advanced to third on a catcher's error and then scored on an RBI groundout by Venable.

The lead was short-lived, though, as Cornell hit back in the next frame with three runs of its own to push the count to 3-1.

Princeton mounted a charge in the sixth, as Venable and junior left fielder Andrew Salini singled and junior designated hitter Ryan Eldridge walked to load the bases. Senior first baseman Adam Balkan then singled to drive in Venable and Salini. This hit knotted the game at three.

In its half of the sixth, the Big Red scored one more to push the score to 4-3. This would ultimately be the game-winner. Princeton came close to tying things up but could not. The Tigers dropped the game, 4-3, ending all hopes of a division or conference title.

The final game was less meaningful for the standings but just as exciting, as the Tigers managed to pull out a thrilling 7-6 victory in the 10th inning. After going back and forth all game, Wendkos finally put a dramatic end to the game, going deep for a solo homer that would give Princeton a one-run victory.