No. 3 Tar Heels await Tigers' journey south

Fresh off a weekend sweep of the University of Richmond in which the Tigers posted 28 runs in three games, Princeton will look to keep its potent offense rolling as it heads into the toughest part of its schedule.

Though already seven games into their season, the Tigers have not practiced outdoors yet and probably will not set foot on Clarke Field until their home opener March 29 against Dartmouth. Thus is the life of northern baseball teams, who split their time between weekday practices in indoor facilities — Princeton’s “Pit” in the basement of Jadwin is one of the nicer facilities in the northeast — and weekends further south.

Typically a time for roster adjustments and getting the team acclimated to outdoor baseball, these early games against bigger southern opponents have proven to be, for lack of a better word, easy for the Tigers. Since losing its season opener in heartbreaking fashion to Delaware — the team was up 11-2 before falling 12-11 — Princeton has won six straight games in convincing fashion.

Led by sophomore catcher Jack Murphy, senior third baseman Spencer Lucian and junior outfielder Derek Beckman, the offense’s consistency — perhaps the Tigers’ biggest question mark heading into this season — has been stellar. Murphy already has four home runs and 13 RBI, good enough to earn him Ivy League Player of the Week honors last week. Lucian, meanwhile, is batting .409 with six stolen bases.

UNC-Greensboro (8-4) has already played 12 games this season, and the Spartans will certainly pose a formidable challenge for the Tigers. Led on offense by infielder Ricky Orton and outfielder Corey Overholtzer, UNC-Greensboro is an offensive threat. It is the Spartans’ pitching, however, that has impressed in the early part of the season.

Righthander Greg Martin leads the team with a 1.65 ERA and 16.1 innings pitched, while rookie pitcher Greg Smith is 1-0 with 15 strikeouts. Martin will likely get a start during one of the three games Princeton plays against the Spartans.

Considered by many to be the best team in the country, UNC will undoubtedly be the toughest regular-season opponent the Tigers will face this year. Equipped with some of the nation’s elite hitters, such as infielder Kyle Shelton and outfielder Dustin Ackley, as well as a pitching staff as good as any other in the country, UNC will be a good barometer for the Tigers to determine how they stack up on a national scale.

Princeton will play UNC twice on March 18 and 19 before heading up to Annapolis, Md., for four games against Navy (7-6). Featuring a bruising hitter in outfielder Michael Speciale and a number of quick contact hitters, the Midshipmen boast a deep, athletic offense.

Navy also has a young ace in second-year left-handed starter Yale Eckert, who is 1-1 in three starts with a 1.40 ERA and a team-leading 24 strikeouts.

The Tigers’ real season does not begin until the start of Ivy League play later this month, but if Princeton can keep up its torrid pace, the Ivy League will be a more than welcome sight. For now, however, the team is focused on improving as much as possible, and these nine games over spring break will be a good gauge of how ready this team is to vie for its second Ivy League title in three years.