Split barely keeps title hopes alive

After splitting their fourth consecutive weekend series two weeks ago, the Tigers seemed unconcerned about the pattern that had developed — but as freshman righthander David Hale cautioned, "We can't do that the whole season." Though the season is not over yet, the Tigers have split two more four-game series in the competitive Ivy League.

The most recent of those splits came over the weekend at Penn (19-16 overall, 11-7 Ivy League), as Princeton (12-21, 8-8) finished with two wins and two losses in a series they had hoped to sweep. After dropping both games of Saturday's doubleheader, the Tigers bounced back to win each of Sunday's matchups against the Quakers, who currently lead the Gehrig Division.

With such a disastrous Saturday, two victories don't seem quite as disappointing. Princeton dropped the series opener 11-1, its worst league loss of the year.

Penn got on top early, scoring three runs in the first inning. Though the Tigers were able to get one back in the third inning when senior second baseman Aaron Prince tripled and senior third baseman Sal Iacono followed with a sacrifice fly, the Princeton bats went silent for the remainder of the contest.

The Quakers put the game out of reach when they added six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, punctuated by a grand slam from William Gordon. Though they only scored one run, the Tigers finished with seven hits, including two each from Prince, freshman first baseman Brian Berkowitz and sophomore designated hitter Adrian Turnham.

Junior starter Steven Miller took the loss for the Tigers in an uncharacteristically inconsistent outing, allowing nine runs on nine hits and three walks in five and one-third innings.

Saturday's nightcap began in much the same manner as the opener, as Penn jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The score remained that way until the Tigers got one back in the top of the fifth, when freshman catcher Jack Murphy and junior first baseman Micah Kaplan hit back-to-back doubles.

Penn quickly answered back, scoring a pair of runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to widen its lead to 6-1. Unlike in the previous game, however, the Tigers would not go down without a fight. With Iacono and Kaplan on base and two out in the top of the ninth, Hale launched his first collegiate home run over the centerfield fence to cut the lead to 6-4. That would be all Princeton would get, as Turnham struck out to end the game.

Junior righthander Christian Staehely took the loss, dropping to 0-6 on the season. Staehely allowed all six Quaker runs on 12 hits but struck out eight.

The Tigers would have their revenge the very next day, winning both of Sunday's games in dramatic fashion. The victories left Princeton only two games behind Penn in the Gehrig Division standings.

"After losing the first two on Saturday, the way we responded showed a lot about our team," Iacono said.

"The games became that much more important; we knew we couldn't afford to lose one on Sunday," he added.

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In the first contest, the Tigers scored four runs in the top of the 10th inning to come away with a 7-3 win, highlighted by the strong relief performance of sophomore Brad Gemberling.

Unlike in Saturday's games, Princeton scored the first runs of the game. The Tigers put three on the board in the second inning thanks in part to Berkowitz's first collegiate home run, a two-run shot.

The 3-0 lead lasted until the bottom of the sixth, when the Quakers plated three to chase Hale from the game and knot the score at three. The score remained tied at 3-3 until the game entered extra innings.

While both teams had opportunities, the Tigers struck first in the 10th, as sophomore shortstop Dan DeGeorge led off the inning with a double. From there, the Tigers were able to manufacture four runs around a couple of singles, a sacrifice fly and a couple of errors.

Gemberling shut the Quakers down in the 10th to close the game. Though he walked five batters in his five innings on the hill, Gemberling allowed only one hit, striking out three.

"We knew if we hung in there, we'd be able to win," Iacono said.

The final game of the four-game set proved to be no less of a battle for the Tigers. After allowing Penn to jump out to a 6-0 lead over four innings, the Princeton offense began to diminish the lead. The Tigers scored one run in the sixth before adding another three in the seventh, thanks in large part to Prince's bases-clearing triple into the right field corner, which plated two runners.

In the eighth inning, the control problems of Quaker reliever William Gordon helped the Tigers as much as their bats. Following a hit, walk and hit by pitch, Gordon walked Prince on four pitches to force in the Tigers' fifth run. Iacono followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, tying the game at six.

"That's how baseball is," Iacono said. "You can go down and that'll be the game, but we were able to start chipping away and tied the game up at six."

The Orange and Black completed the comeback in the top of the ninth, scoring four runs to go up by a score of 10-6. The Tigers were able to take advantage of two Penn errors and scored the go-ahead run when sophomore rightfielder Andrew Doupe hit a double off the left field wall.

Senior righthander Eric Walz threw a complete game for the Tigers and improved to 3-0 with the win. Walz allowed three unearned runs on nine hits and seven walks, striking out three.

"We have to give a lot of credit to Eric Walz," Iacono said. "He stuck with it and battled the whole way."

The Tigers will face off against St. Johns on Tuesday before returning to league play with the final series of the season against Cornell next weekend.