After losses, Princeton tops Yale

One ninth-inning comeback and one walk-off home run. Two losses and two wins. It certainly didn't take the Tigers long to get on the Ivy League rollercoaster.

Beginning its Ivy schedule this past weekend at Clarke Field, Princeton (6-13 overall, 2-2 Ivy League) dropped two games against Brown (7-13, 2-2) on Saturday but recovered in resounding fashion Sunday, defeating Yale (7-16, 1-3) twice.

In their opening Ivy League game, the Tigers struggled offensively against Brown's Jeff Dietz. Dietz threw a complete game five-hitter en route to a 5-2 victory, overcoming a solid performance from Princeton's starter, junior Steven Miller. Miller, who also pitched seven innings, allowed eight hits and four runs, all earned. The loss dropped Miller to 0-3 on the season despite his team-best 3.96 ERA.

After Brown took a 2-0 lead in the second inning off a run-scoring single and a steal of home, the Tigers responded by scoring a run of their own. Senior third baseman Sal Iacono hit a ground rule double over the rightfield fence and was later driven in by sophomore designated hitter Adrian Turnham.

The Bears added two more runs in the top of the fourth inning, and though the Tigers were able to counter with one of their own in the bottom half, it was not enough to overcome Dietz's pitching, who finished the game with six strikeouts.

What started as a redeeming second game of the doubleheader ultimately ended in disaster for the Tigers. Holding an 8-3 lead heading into the ninth inning, the Tigers fell apart as the Brown hitters came surging back, scoring 11 runs in the ninth inning to come away with a 14-8 win.

Princeton's ninth inning meltdown wasted a strong performance from junior starter Christian Staehely, who allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings, striking out eight. Freshmen Jack Murphy and Greg Van Horn paced the Tigers offensively, each finishing the game with two RBI. Murphy's RBI came on his team-leading fourth home run.

After pitching a scoreless eighth inning, freshman southpaw Langford Stuber lost control in the ninth, walking the first four batters he faced before being chased by a bases-clearing double. In all, Stuber allowed five runs in the ninth before being replaced by senior Gavin Fabian. As Stuber left the field, so did the Tigers' usually strong defense. Princeton made three errors, which led to Fabian's allowing six runs to cross the plate, only two of which were earned. In all, the Tigers finished the game with a season-high five errors.

"Stuff like that is gonna happen," Iacono said. "It's better that it happened earlier in the season so that we could see how we could respond."

The Tigers, however, would not have to wait long to bounce back from their frustrating losses. Behind a couple strong pitching performances and the hitting of Iacono, the Tigers swept the Bulldogs to even their Ivy League record at 2-2.

"Coming off the day we had on Saturday, we knew we would have to take two [days]," Iacono said. "We had to go out there and get after it rather than sitting back."

Princeton's 5-2 victory in the first game was due in large part to the pitching heroics of freshman David Hale. Hale, making just his second start of the season, pitched an eight-hit complete game, allowing just two runs and striking out six.

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"I stayed focused and kept the ball down," Hale said, citing the reasons for his success.

Hale started quickly, striking out the side in the first inning.

"I just started clicking right away," Hale said. "It gave me a ton of confidence to start the game that way."

After taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning, the Tigers blew the game open in the fifth, scoring four runs. The 5-0 lead would prove to be more than enough for Hale, who managed to avoid trouble for most of the afternoon.

"[Sophomore Andrew] Doupe made a great play in rightfield," Hale said. "And Aaron Prince turned a couple [of] nice double plays to help me out."

Though Yale was able to chip away at the Tigers' lead, the Princeton squad held on.

"David really pitched a great game," Iacono said. "For a freshman to come out and pitch the way he did really gave us a boost heading into the second game."

What the first game of the doubleheader lacked in drama, the Tigers more than made up for in their final game of the weekend. In what remained a pitchers' duel for most of the game, the Tigers exploded for four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The last three of those runs came on a walk-off home run from Iacono on a 2-1 count to give Princeton a 7-4 victory.

"He had thrown a bunch of fastballs early in the count," Iacono said. "I was looking off-speed, but he came back with the fastball and I just wanted to hit a line drive, but I got the ball over the rightfield fence. I was pretty pumped when it went out."

The home run was not the only highlight of Iacono's day. The third baseman also set a new Princeton record by hitting in his 18th consecutive game.

"I knew I had a streak going," Iacono said. "I'm glad I didn't know I was going for the record cause otherwise I probably would have been thinking about it at the plate. It's great to have it now, especially because I won't have to think about it anymore."

The Tigers return to action this weekend with a trip up north to play Harvard and Dartmouth.