It was the first inning in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader that set the tone for an entire weekend of baseball at Clarke Field: Columbia first baseman Alex Black launched a solo shot to left field off senior starting pitcher Zak Hermans with two outs in the inning, catapulting the Lions to an early 1-0 lead. That blast turned out to be all they needed, although the game ended 4-0 following the addition of a security cushion in a three-run fifth inning.
The shutout loss came in game one of a four-game home series that saw the Tigers (12-25 overall, 9-7 Ivy League) drop three of four to Ivy League rival Columbia (20-17, 12-4) at home. Columbia defeated Princeton 7-1 in the second game of the series and 10-2 in the final matchup, losing the third 2-0. Following their solid 3-1 weekend, the Lions maintained their first place standing in the Lou Gehrig Division, extending their division lead to three games. Princeton now finds itself three games off the Gehrig Division lead and tied with Cornell, whom the Tigers will take on in doubleheaders in Princeton and Ithaca this weekend.
Princeton struggled offensively all weekend, mustering only four runs throughout the four-game series. The offensive slump came on the heels of a string of impressive outings for the Tigers, who averaged 8.5 runs per game in their previous eight Ivy League games against Dartmouth, Harvard and Penn. However, paired with a four-game set in which the Princeton pitching staff allowed 21 runs, an average of 5.25 per game, the drop-off in offensive production left little breathing room.
“We’ve been pretty inconsistent offensively this whole season,” head coach Scott Bradley said. “We got off to a slow start, and it looked like we were coming around, but our lineup is very front-end loaded so we have a tough time getting going at the bottom of the order. Still, you have to give credit to Columbia’s pitching. They had a reputation, and they lived up to it. They played very good defense and pitched very well. We have to tip our caps to them.”
Princeton did manage to avoid the four-game sweep, however, pulling out a low-scoring 2-0 victory in the first game of Sunday afternoon’s doubleheader as junior starting pitcher Mike Ford earned his fifth victory of the season. Ford, who was named the Ivy League’s Player of the Week earlier in April, allowed only five hits and one walk during his complete game shutout performance, allowing the Tigers to stay on top despite the low offensive production. Princeton put a run on the board in the first inning, when junior centerfielder Alec Keller was forced home with one out after senior third baseman Alex Flink was hit by a pitch. The Tigers added a security run in the fourth inning when senior right fielder Nate Baird scored on freshman second baseman Danny Hoy’s sacrifice fly to center.
Following a non-Ivy League matchup against Rider on Wednesday afternoon, Princeton will close out its Ancient Eight season against Cornell (21-14, 9-7) this weekend. The Tigers will face Cornell in an afternoon doubleheader at Clarke Field on Friday before traveling to Ithaca for another two-game set on Sunday afternoon. Princeton defeated Cornell, which won the Ivy League Championship last season, in three of four late season games last year, although the Big Red clinched the division with its win in the final game of the series. Now, with both teams vying for the Gehrig Division title and a shot at the Ivy League Championship once again, the Tigers will need to take the series from the Big Red and hope for Columbia to drop each of its four games against Penn (22-17, 7-9) in order to win at least a share of the division.
“We’re going to need a lot of things to happen,” Bradley said. “The way we look at it is that we have to throw up a couple wins. If we can go out and earn a couple wins on Friday afternoon, we’ll at least put additional pressure on Columbia’s backs.”
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