Princeton has been an incredibly streaky team this season, starting the year just 1-15 but rebounding to go 8-4 in Ivy League play so far. One reason for this inconsistency could be the difference in strength of schedule. The Tigers played teams like North Carolina and Maryland to start the season. However, senior pitcher Zak Hermans thinks the Tigers are simply just playing better baseball now.
“We just needed to get our confidence back,” Herman said. “The early season struggles were pretty disheartening, but we got back on track with the wins versus Yale and Brown. Since then, the bats have really come alive, our pitching has been top notch and we are winning games like we know we can.”
Players like Hermans and junior pitcher Mike Ford have helped the Tigers during their recent run. Hermans, the reigning Ivy League pitcher of the year, leads the league in strikeouts (44) and currently holds an impressive 1.91 ERA. Ford has been equally impressive both as a hitter and a pitcher. Ford is tied for first in the Ivy League in home runs, is third in RBI and also leads the league in innings pitched and ERA (1.15).
These two stars are not the only ones to thank for the Tigers’ success. As Ford says, Princeton’s wins have been a collective effort, a result of everyone getting hot at the right time. In addition, he sees a bright side to losing out of conference: Losses are a great team learning experience.
“I think we have just started to put the pieces of our game together all at once. We have been able to combine our hitting with our pitching in the Ivy League, which has allowed us to play a bit more relaxed. Also, early on we lost a lot of close ball games and from that we learned what it feels to play in those types of games.”
Beating Columbia this weekend, despite Princeton’s improved play, will be no easy task. The Lions come into this series with the best conference record in the Ivy League and having won eight of their last nine games.
Columbia is an incredibly balanced ball club, ranking third or fourth in the Ivy League in all of the most significant pitching and hitting statistical categories. Players like Alex Black, Jordan Serena and Nick Ferraresi lead the Lions offensively. Surprisingly, Columbia does not have a single player with a top-10 batting average in the Ivy League, showing that the success of this team has truly been a team effort. Columbia’s pitching is also very strong, as Joey Donino and David Speer have excelled in leading the rotation.
The importance of these four games really cannot be understated. Princeton’s success this weekend will determine whether they can pursue their ultimate title of winning the Ivy League title this season. Ford understands how important this weekend is, saying the team is more excited than nervous.
“This weekend is extremely important,” he said. “It will determine our season and if we get a chance to play in the championship series or not. We aren’t feeling any pressure about this upcoming weekend considering we have to do exactly what we expected coming into League play. We are just excited to get out and compete.”
In addition to this weekend’s matchup holding significance in the present, Hermans recalls how the Lions beat the Tigers badly last year, saying it would be nice to get a little bit of payback while also claiming first place.
“Columbia beat up on us last year at their field and now we have a chance to return the favor; it’s something we’ve been waiting for since last April,” he said.
The Tigers will host Columbia at Clarke Field on Saturday and Sunday. The games on Saturday will take place at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., while those on Sunday will take place at 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
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