Baseball: Youngsters to lead Tigers

For the first time in baseball head coach Scott Bradley’s 12 years at Princeton, it seems like the Tigers will field a brand new team. Between graduation and the professional draft, six members of the starting lineup and two starting pitchers left the Tigers after last season.

“This is a different situation than we’ve ever been in,” Bradley said. “We’ve always had enough of a balance of players from different classes, so it never felt like everyone left.”

Despite the deep personnel losses on the mound and in the field, Bradley said he is confident that the team will surprise many this season, as he believes that the strong sophomore and freshman classes will step up. With the leadership of the remaining seniors, including designated hitter Brian Berkowitz and first baseman Jon Broscious, the team expects to contend in the Ivy League’s Gehrig Division once again.

“We have an added edge [this year] that I haven’t seen in the last few years,” Bradley said.

The Tigers will need their young stars to contribute in order to compete with Cornell, last year’s Gehrig Division champion. The Big Red claimed the crown by defeating Princeton in a playoff game last year, as the Tigers inexplicably could not get the last out of the first inning and gave up nine straight runs. Cornell returns star pitcher Corey Pappel, whom many see as a big-league prospect.

“Most people see Cornell as the team to beat,” Bradley said. “[This year] we have something to prove instead of something to hold on to.”

Princeton’s new-look offense will begin and end with sophomore catcher Sam Mulroy, who will guide the pitching staff as well. Mulroy has the unenviable job of having to live up to the team’s former star, Jack Murphy ’10, who was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays last year.

“[Mulroy] has to put his stamp on the team,” Bradley said.

Going around the infield, at the hot corner will be junior Matt Connor and sophomore Andrew Whitener. The two will split time at third, though Whitener may also be seen in other areas of the infield — Bradley noted that he can play any such position.

Freshman Matt Bowman will step into the starting shortstop position and the leadoff slot in the batting order. Since he is also a pitcher, the only times that Bowman will not start at short will be when he is on the mound.

“Matt Bowman is a terrific baseball player,” Bradley said. “He’s really a throwback to days gone by.”

At second base, senior Noel Gonzales-Luna and freshman Alex Flink will split time. Both are switch-hitters, allowing the coaching staff to play the hot bat.

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Guiding the infield at first base will be power hitter Broscious, who slugged .462 last season and has 11 home runs in the past two years. Moving in from the outfield, Broscious will be called upon to anchor the offense and provide leadership for the young team.

In the outfield, the best defender will probably be sophomore Tom Boggiano. Freshmen John Mishu and Nate Baird will be expected to contribute in big ways and will probably start as well. Additionally, senior Brandon Englert will now have his chance to come back from his injury-plagued earlier seasons in the outfield.

Because of a shoulder injury, Berkowitz will most likely start as the designated hitter. One of the top hitters on the team, Berkowitz logged a team-best five home runs last year on top of 26 RBI.

On the hill, expect to see junior Dan Barnes start off for Princeton in the first game of every league weekend. Barnes didn’t play much last season because of injury, but he returns this year as one of the Tigers’ more experienced starters. Bradley said that Princeton would have won the Gehrig division outright last year had Barnes been able to start for the entire season.

“I think that Barnes could be somebody who will attract a good bit of attention,” Bradley said. “He could possibly be an Ivy League Pitcher of the Year candidate.”

Behind Barnes, junior David Palms and senior Langford Stuber will take the second and third starter slots. Palms had a 5-2 record and 3.06 ERA last year — both best on the team — making him a lethal counterpart to Barnes. Stuber improved throughout last year, and Bradley said he has worked on better consistency this preseason.

Bowman is currently favored for the fourth starting slot, while two other freshman pitchers, Zak Hermans and Kevin Link, will be expected to contribute in key innings this year. All were top prospects for Princeton, and Bradley is excited to see what they can do in the non-league season.

“Hermans is a good Texas pitching prospect, as is Link,” Bradley explained.

Finally, the team will attempt to use a pro-style bullpen this year, with a designated setup man in sophomore Ryan Makis and a lockdown closer in junior Matt Grabowski, who saved five games and had a 2.65 ERA last season. Mishu, Flink, junior Chad Ohlendorf, senior Ross Staine, junior Matt Welsh and sophomore Stephen Elmore will also be available out of the bullpen.