Still looking for its first win of the year, the baseball team (0-4) travels south over spring break for a brutal stretch of 10 games in nine days against some of the best teams in the country. The weekend opens with a three-game set against the University of North Carolina, Greensboro (7-4), followed by pair of midweek games against No. 12 North Carolina (11-2). The trip continues with a Thursday night showdown with North Carolina A&T (3-6) and concludes at Navy (10-2) for a four-game series.
“Early on in the season, the primary goal is to keep getting better every day, and good competition is what prepares us,” senior second baseman and captain Noel Gonzales-Luna said. “UNC is one of the best team’s in the nation. It’s exciting to play a team of that caliber. It’s definitely a lot of baseball, but it’s also a lot of fun.”
Through four games this season, the Tigers have been paced offensively by sophomore catcher Sam Mulroy and senior designated hitter Brian Berkowitz. Mulroy, who saw limited action last season, has a team-high .462 batting average and two homeruns. Berkowitz is batting .400 and leads the team in doubles, with two.
“Mulroy and Berko were a couple of the bright spots last weekend,” Gonzales-Luna said. “Berko had a few walks and didn’t strike out, which is something he’s been working on improving. We are expecting big things of Mulroy, and it’s nice that he’s off to a hot start ... It’s important to get guys rolling. Momentum is contagious — hopefully that can spread to the rest of the team.”
Princeton has struggled on the mound so far this season. The Princeton pitching has a 9.08 ERA and has surrendered nine home runs in 38 innings.
“We have a lot of confidence in our pitching staff this year,” Gonzales-Luna said. “We had the best staff ERA in the Ivy League last year, and those same guys are contributing this year. First time out is never perfect, and we know that this year’s staff has a chance to put together something special.”
It is understandable that the Tigers have some early season rust. The cold winters of the Northeast force the team indoors for a majority of its preseason practices. While the Tigers have played just four games so far this year, teams like UNC have already played 11. The late start does not hinder the Tigers in their Ivy League season — all Ancient Eight teams begin their seasons around the same time — but it does mean that their early season games are constantly played against teams with a lot more momentum.
“The fact that our opponents have played more games than us only shows through on the little things,” Gonzales-Luna said. “They might be a little crisper on defense or better on the basepaths. They’ve been fielding grounders off of real grass, and their pitchers have been working with men on base. We’re still getting settled into a lot of those things.”
Princeton head coach Scott Bradley generally tinkers with his lineup during the team’s spring break trip, trying to find the most potent mixture heading into the all-important Ivy season, which starts on April 3. The changes provide an added dynamic to the 10-game road trip, but the Tigers understand the greater goal.
“The constant lineup changes are what’s best for the team,” Gonzales-Luna said. “Early in the year, you always want a lot of different guys getting at-bats. Once Ivies start, the tinkering will stop, and Coach will run the same guys out each weekend, but everyone still has their role on the team. In tight spots later in the season, we are going to want guys with some at-bats under their belt.”
Last season, heavy rains cancelled the early portion of the Tigers’ spring break trip. When Princeton could finally play, it dropped a two-game set to then-No. 1 UNC before winning three of its final four games against Navy. The Tigers are hoping for similar results this season.
“It is always exciting to play a “It is always exciting to play a team of UNC’s caliber, but Navy is the big series,” Gonzales-Luna said. “Navy plays at the level of typical Ivy League competition, so that is a great benchmark for our progress.”
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