In the pair of doubleheaders the Tigers (14-17, 6-6) will play at Clarke Field on Saturday and Sunday, they will attempt to break their habit of splitting weekend series. For the last four weeks, Princeton has won two games and lost two. For the team to have success in the Ivy League, that trend has to end.
“We’re at the point where splitting weekends isn’t going to do much for us,” head coach Scott Bradley said. “Our philosophy right now is to do what we need to win every game.”
The Tigers put themselves in just that position last weekend against division-leading Columbia, sweeping Saturday’s doubleheader. On Sunday, however, Princeton gave the advantage back, dropping both games.
“We put ourselves in a position on Saturday to draw even with [Columbia],” Bradley said. “Even one win would have helped.”
The losses dropped Princeton into second place in the Gehrig Division, two games behind Columbia and one-and-a-half games ahead of Penn.
Despite their losing record, the Quakers will likely prove to be a major test for Princeton. Leading Penn is reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year, righthanded starter Todd Roth.
Though only 4-3 on the year, Roth has a league-leading 2.06 ERA and is tied with Princeton sophomore David Hale for second in strikeouts with 43.
Last season, Roth pitched a one-run complete game to help the Quakers to an 11-1 victory over the Tigers.
“Roth has great command — he’s not going to help you out,” Bradley said. “We have to be able to see his pitches, have to be able to wait.”
Also crucial for the Quakers’ season thus far has been the freshman pitching tandem of Sam Gilbert and Jeremy Maas. The pair is a combined 6-2, with Gilbert sporting a miniscule 1.77 ERA and Maas holding a respectable 2.67 mark.
On the offensive side, Penn is led by outfielder Steve Gable, who trails only Princeton senior third baseman Spencer Lucian with a .425 batting average. Gable also leads Penn in several key offensive cateogries, including runs, RBI, total bases and on-base percentage.
Overall, the Quaker offense is well-rounded, with nine batters hitting over .300 for the season and Kyle Armeny, who leads the team with six home runs, hitting at a .299 clip.
As for the Tigers, the focus remains on driving in runners in scoring position, a task they have had some difficulty with all season.
“It came back and bit us pretty good in the second game on Sunday,” Bradley said. “We had a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning with runners on second and third and nobody out and couldn’t score.”
“If we had scored at least one of those runs, we get a three-run cushion,” he added.
Princeton will continue to rely on the hitting of Lucian and sophomore catcher Jack Murphy, who are hitting .434 and .397 respectively — the only Tigers above .300 on the season.
Equally crucial for the Tigers will be the continued success of sophomore righthander David Hale, who leads the staff in ERA, complete games, innings and strikeouts. Hale also has yet to allow a home run this season.
For Princeton to be successful this weekend, however, it will need strong performances from its other starters — seniors Christian Staehely and Steven Miller and junior Brad Gemberling — against a potent Quaker offense.
The Tigers are looking for a similar turnaround to the one they had last season, when they won five of their final six games to fall just short of Ivy League title contention.
“We haven’t put together a real hot streak yet,” Bradley said. “We need to do that. Otherwise, we’ll be watching the Ivy League championship again.”
“We have no margin for error — every run we give up, every hit they get, it all counts,” he added.
Princeton opens the four-game series Saturday afternoon at Clarke Field.
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