“This was a weekend about finishing careers, making our seniors feel good about their experience at Princeton and getting some kids out on the field,” head coach Scott Bradley said.
On Friday, Princeton (12-30 overall, 6-14 Ivy League) shipped up to Ithaca to play the Big Red (17-20 overall, 9-11 Ivy League) in an afternoon doubleheader. In the first game, the Tigers battled back from an early deficit but were eventually undone by Cornell in extra innings. Indeed, it was a strong performance from a team that has gone 5-16 this season when opponents have scored first.
The Big Red took the lead in the bottom of the second inning, grabbing two runs off a wild pitch from junior Dan Barnes and an RBI single.
Not to be outdone, Princeton battled back, snagging a run in the top of the third off a home run from senior second baseman Noel Gonzales-Luna. The Tigers knotted the game the very next inning after sophomore infielder Andrew Whitener scored off a groundout from sophomore outfielder Tom Boggiano.
The two teams remained knotted for the next five innings until the Big Red scored the game-winning runs in dramatic fashion. After allowing a Cornell batter to reach base on a single, freshman reliever Kevin Link, who took the loss without recording a single out, allowed a walk-off two-run home run to right center field to give the Big Red a 4-2 win.
Like the opener, both teams matched each other step for step in the early innings of the late-afternoon matchup. After conceding a run in the bottom of the first inning, the Tigers capitalized on an error from Cornell’s right fielder after a single by Gonzales-Luna to snag the tying run. The Big Red scored again in the bottom of the fourth only to have Princeton respond the very next inning with junior infielder Matt Connor grabbing his second home run of the campaign.
But in the bottom of the sixth, Cornell broke away for good, scoring two runs on an RBI triple and an RBI single off junior starter David Palms. The game was sealed in the bottom of the eight as the Big Red added three more runs off a two-out three-run blast to left field.
“Two-out runs have been our problem all season,” Bradley said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team where we’ve allowed so many runs with two outs.”
Princeton tried to respond but was only able to muster a single run in the ninth inning off an RBI double from Connor. The game finished 7-3 with Palms, who went eight innings and allowed seven runs on 11 hits, taking the loss.
“In many respects, these were typical of a lot of our games this year,” Bradley commented.
After a night of hasty travel, the teams completed the second half of the series Saturday afternoon at Clarke Field.
In the first game, Princeton recorded its first win of the series, outlasting Cornell in a narrow 8-7 victory. For the first few innings, it looked as if the Tigers would have a difficult time stopping the Cornell offense. The Big Red recorded five runs off three hits and two errors in the opening two innings. But Princeton, whose bats have remained quiet all season, was keen to the challenge. Senior designated hitter Brian Berkowitz, who is applying for a medical redshirt and could return to the team next year, blasted a three-run home run in the first inning while freshman outfielder John Mishu drove in two runs in the bottom of the second off an RBI single.
While freshman Zak Hermans temporarily kept the Big Red at bay, Princeton added three runs in the bottom of the third as Berkowitz smashed his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to dead center, and Connor drove in Whitener off a sacrifice fly. Cornell continued to threaten, scoring two runs in the fifth, but Matt Grabowski pitched scoreless three innings of relief to give the Tigers the win.
This was to be the team’s final victory of the season, however. In the late-afternoon game, Cornell never looked back as it scored runs in three of the opening four innings off senior starter Langford Stuber.
Princeton positioned itself for a comeback by scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth following two sacrifice flies and two RBI doubles. The Big Red, however, closed out the game scoring two runs in the final four innings to win the game 8-4.
After this disappointing campaign, the team hopes to get back on track during the offseason.
“We never really clicked this year,” Berkowitz said. “We never really worked on all cylinders, but we’re a young team and still have guys with great potential, so next season should be very different.”
Likewise, Bradley said that this young team would gain valuable experience in the summer.
“We lost so much last year with those seniors, but right now, we’re in a better situation going into the offseason this year than last year,” he said. “We’re just looking for guys to get experience playing this summer in college or semi-pro leagues.”
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