Houston homecoming for six Tigers

Yesterday, Princeton students awoke to find the campus blanketed in a fresh new coating of snow. For many, the white powder signifies the innocence and beauty of winter, but for the baseball team (1-2 overall, 0-0 Ivy League), the snow is a constant reminder of the geographic elements that hinder Northeast teams.

"It's tough playing up here," head coach Scott Bradley said. "We have a great indoor facility, but baseball is not played indoors. The weather up here does not allow us to go outside until late March, so we go down south to play teams that have already played a dozen outdoor games."

The players have struggled with the indoor environment, but the Tigers view the opportunity to play teams down south as training for later in the season.

"You can't simulate being outdoors," senior second baseman Aaron Prince said, "which is why it's good to have these [early season] games. It's a transition to get us as prepared as we can be."

This weekend, the Tigers will leave the powder-covered fields of New Jersey and travel to the University of Houston, where baseball can be played year-round. The Cougars (8-9) have already played 14 more games than the Tigers, but junior pitcher Christian Staehely is not worried.

"They will be more prepared, just because they have played more games," Staehely said. "But we have all been playing baseball for a long time, so it won't be too much of a factor."

Houston boasts a powerful offense led by a tandem of lefty infielders — sophomore Jimmy Cesario is batting .388 on the year with 26 hits, 14 runs and 12 RBI, while senior Josh Stirneman, the Cougars' most powerful bat, is hitting .300 with four homeruns and 15 RBI.

The Houston pitching staff has struggled at times this year but nevertheless has the skill to be very dangerous. An injury to junior Ricky Hargrove, the team's ace, has hurt the staff significantly, but junior starter Aaron Brown is currently 1-0 with an ERA of 4.88. Left-handed freshman Wes Musick has proven himself more than capable of pitching at the collegiate level with a record of 2-3 and an ERA of 5.40.

The trip to Houston, which features night games Friday and Saturday, followed by a day game Sunday, will have special significance for the six Tigers who are from the Houston area.

"I'm definitely excited to play in front of my hometown," said Staehely, who pitched at Houston's Lamar High School. "It is finally a chance for my extended family and friends to see me pitch, and since so many of the guys [on the team] are from the area, we are expecting a pretty big crowd."

Last weekend, Princeton traveled to North Carolina to play three games at No. 36 Elon (8-7). The team lost both ends of the doubleheader Saturday, its first two games of the season, and then bounced back Sunday afternoon, beating the Seahawks 11-6. In all it was a solid, first weekend for the team, especially for its younger members.

"A lot of the younger guys got time this weekend, which was great to see," said Prince, who went 1-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's victory. "During the first couple games it is great to see the development of the younger players, and they showed us this weekend that they are going to be contributing immediately."

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In Saturday's first game, freshman pitcher/third baseman David Hale went 3-5 with an RBI and a run scored, and the following day he pitched three innings en route to recording Princeton's first victory of the season.

In that game, Hale was aided by the bat of freshman classmate Greg Van Horn, who went 3-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

In Houston this weekend, the team will look for more of the same from its young players and also rely on its veteran leadership, which will be instrumental in guiding the Tigers through the early parts of the schedule.

"We are going to keep improving," Staehely said. "Our hitting was superb last weekend and our fielding was pretty good as well. I can't speak for all the pitchers, but I know that some of us had to get used to throwing off of a dirt mound. These things may take a little time, but for a team that has not yet had an outdoor practice, we are in a great place right now."

As for the trio of contests against Houston, the team is expecting big things.

"We are right there with them talent-wise," said Staehely, who will pitch Saturday night. "This is a perfect opportunity to show that we can score some runs and shut down a good hitting team. We won't be satisfied unless we can win two of the three games."

So this weekend, while you bundle up and trudge through snow-covered walkways all over campus, 1500 miles away the baseball team will be getting the outdoor work that it can't get in Princeton — throwing off dirt mounds and playing on real grass — and facing some impressive competition along the way.