Two more doubleheaders halved versus league foes

On a weekend that saw unusually brutal April weather knock out major league and college baseball games alike, the Tigers managed to evade the worst of the inclement weather and come away with a pair of wins for the second consecutive weekend.

"It's worked out well for us so far," junior pitcher Steven Miller said. "But the next three weekends, we're gonna have to win our series to make sure that we get to the [Ivy League] championship."

The weekend's opener saw a chilly New England day extended even longer than intended, as the Tigers (8-15, 4-4) needed an extra frame to beat Harvard 6-4. Miller finished with a complete game victory, striking out 11 and allowing just two earned runs.

Princeton was also driven by the efforts of sophomore shortstop Dan DeGeorge and junior centerfielder Spencer Lucian. DeGeorge had a hit in each of his four at-bats, while Lucian drove home three runs in the win.

The Tigers started the game well, building a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. After the Crimson answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, Princeton added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Following a Lucian double to right-centerfield, senior third baseman Sal Iacono extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single to left field, moving Lucian to third. Freshman catcher Jack Murphy then knocked Lucian home with a single of his own, extending the Tigers' lead to 4-2.

Princeton, though, was unable to finish off Harvard and allowed the Crimson to plate a pair in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings.

The Tigers responded quickly in the top of the eighth, manufacturing two runs from a base hit, bunt, error and sacrifice fly. The two-run lead was more than enough for Miller, who sat down the heart of Harvard's order to give the Tigers a 6-4 win.

In what has become a dangerous trend for the Tigers, poor fielding cost Princeton a victory in the nightcap. With six errors leading to five unearned runs, the Orange and Black fell to Harvard, 6-3, to close the two-game series.

"It's always disappointing to get errors," Miller said. "As a pitcher, there's not a lot you can do about that, but the fielders pick us up so often that it's hard to get on them for it."

Iacono and DeGeorge each had two hits in the game, with Iacono's base-knock in the fourth extending his hit-streak to 20 games.

Returning to Princeton on Sunday to face Dartmouth, the Tigers split their second doubleheader of the weekend, losing 2-1 in the opener before defeating the Big Green in a 12-4 slugfest to finish the weekend. Originally scheduled to be played in Hanover, the doubleheader was moved to Princeton due to the chilly weather in New Hampshire.

For his second start in a row, freshman righthander David Hale found himself locked in a fierce pitching duel, this time facing Dartmouth's Russell Young.

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Dartmouth drew first blood, manufacturing a run in the bottom of the third inning, and it was able to hold the lead until Princeton answered back in the top of the sixth, scoring a run of its own.

In the seventh inning, an error proved to be Princeton's undoing. After hitting the inning's first batter with a pitch, Hale induced a fielder's choice, but senior infielder Aaron Prince misplayed the ball. With two runners on, a single through the left side ended the game and gave Dartmouth the 2-1 victory.

The 2-1 loss also saw Iacono's 20-game hitting streak snapped, just three games shy of tying the Ivy League record.

"It's not that big of a deal," Iacono said. "Now that it's done, I'm kind of glad not to have to think about it anymore."

After managing just five hits in game one, Princeton's offense exploded in game two, knocking 17 hits and scoring 12 runs. The Tigers built a 3-1 lead through the first three innings before pulling away in the fifth inning, adding five more runs to go up 8-1. Princeton then scored four more runs in the top of the seventh. The 12-1 lead was more than enough for senior Eric Walz and freshman Jon Broscious, who combined to strike out 12 Dartmouth batters.

Though the Big Green crept back, scoring a run in the seventh and two in the eighth, the 11-run lead that the Tigers had built proved insurmountable. After losing his 20-game hitting streak in the day's first game, Iacono had three hits, three runs and two RBI in the win.

"We were pretty happy with the way the weekend went," Miller said. "Our goal is to win the Ivy League championship, and we're still right there in the thick of things."