Last weekend, Princeton (0-1) had the final two games of its planned series against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro rained out due to a severe storm that swept across the East Coast.
“It’s pretty much the same situation every year. We’re kind of always inside until the first game,” senior second baseman Dan DeGeorge said. “We can do a lot in the pit, but the biggest transition is reading balls off the bat and seeing live pitching outside for the first time. I think the team is ready to go for the first weekend, and we’re looking to come away with some wins.”
After spending the winter training indoors in Jadwin Gymnasium, the Tigers said they are hoping to make a fast adjustment to playing on a regular diamond.
“The biggest challenge going from indoors to outside is probably the outfield defense,” head coach Scott Bradley said. “We have a great indoor facility, but the outfielders do not get much work on fly balls. Just seeing the ball outside and the depth perception outside are completely different.”
Helping to ease Princeton’s transition to playing outside will be a solid pitching staff that ranks among the best in the Ivy League.
The starting rotation is led by two professional prospects, righthanders senior Brad Gemberling and junior David Hale.
Both have fastballs that consistently hit 90 miles per hour on the radar gun, and Hale has been clocked at speeds up to 98. Last weekend, Gemberling threw four innings, giving up no earned runs and recording three strikeouts.
Since it is so early in the season, every pitcher will be on a strict pitch count, with the goal being to get some game experience without risking stress and injury.
“I would expect that our starting pitchers will stay in the four- to five- inning range,” Bradley said. “Gemberling and [sophomore pitcher Dan] Barnes could go [longer] because they pitched last weekend.”
When the Tigers are at the plate, they will be led by Hale, junior catcher Jack Murphy and senior first baseman Adrian Turnham.
Last year, Murphy had a .391 batting average and led the team with eight home runs and 40 RBI. Turnham and Hale were also among the team leaders in all three categories.
Murphy, a six-foot, four-inch switch-hitter who is attracting attention from pro scouts and projects as an early-round pick in the first-year players’ draft, had a positive start to the season against UNCG.
In his first at-bat of the season, Murphy slugged a two-run homer in a probable sign of good things to come for the talented catcher.
“Having guys on base for our three through six guys is important. Pretty much our whole lineup is capable of knocking in some runs,” DeGeorge said. “If the top couple guys can get on base to set up the middle guys in the lineup, they are going to do some damage. Hitting with two outs is a big key to getting runs for us.”
The top of Princeton’s lineup is headed by DeGeorge and senior outfielder Derek Beckman.The classmates will look to get on base to give the middle of Princeton’s order plenty of opportunities to drive in runs.
“I don’t think we had any problems transitioning with the hitting last week. We had 11 hits against UNC-Greensboro,” DeGeorge said. “Just making solid contact with the ball will be a good indication [of how we are doing]. Hopefully, we can stretch out our pitchers a little more this season and get them ready for the Ivy League season coming up.”
After months spent fielding ground balls and taking batting practice indoors, the Tigers are looking forward to the challenges ahead in the regular season.
“We should get great weather this weekend so we expect to see improvement each game,” Bradley said. “Playing four games over the weekend will allow us to play a number of guys. I want to see a good approach each game and for the team to start to handle situations in the right way.”
The Tribe, which has already played seven games this season, will pose a stiff test for Princeton. Though William & Mary does not hit for much power, totaling only two home runs to date on the season, it makes a living playing small ball.
Murphy will have his work cut out for him behind the plate, as the Tribe will probably test the catcher’s arm throughout the series.
“We have not played William & Mary in a few years, but they are always a solid team and a good test for us,” Bradley said.
“We will play some different guys, but we have a number of players that play every game so we will use the regular lineup.”
If all goes well against William & Mary, it could be a good omen for the high expectations Princeton has for this season.
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