Baseball erupts into Ivy play with four wins over Harvard and Dartmouth

Just last year, Princeton baseball (11-10 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) could be found at the bottom of the Ivy League rankings. However, with sweeps over both Harvard (7-14, 0-4) and Dartmouth (5-16, 0-2) this weekend, Princeton sits atop the conference standings this year, currently the only team in the Ivy League with a winning record. These wins also extend Princeton’s win streak as of late to five victories, all of which have been at home.

The Tiger’s theatrics began on Saturday afternoon when Princeton earned a hard-fought 2-1 walk-off victory over the Big Green. For the entirety of the game, senior pitcher Luke Strieber commanded the mound, letting just one run pass under his watch. With the score at 1-1 after nine full innings, it was senior co-captain Billy Arendt who saved the team with a RBI in the additional tenth inning.

The growing feud between Princeton and Dartmouth continued later that afternoon, when Princeton once again earned a walk-off victory over the Big Green. This time, the offense pushed the final score to 9-8, in the Tiger’s favor. By the end of the first nine innings, the two teams found themselves leveled at six runs each. Dartmouth then took control during the top of the tenth inning with two impressive runs. However, Princeton junior first basemen Nick Hernandez matched the Big Green with a game-tying double.

Then, to cap it all off for the Tigers, freshman Joe Flynn hit a single to win the game for the Tigers. With that hit, the Tigers finalized their second win of the day in order to begin their Ivy League season undefeated.

However, Dartmouth was just the beginning of the magic for the Tigers. On Sunday, Princeton blew away Harvard, outscoring the Crimson 18-6 over two consecutive victories. The first game of the afternoon proved to be a battle of defenses. The low-scoring game forced both teams to stave off runs. On the Princeton side, senior pitcher Cameron Mingo was just one run short of a perfect game. Along with a strong three-run first inning, the Tigers stole game one against Harvard.

The second game of the afternoon proved to be the highest scoring game for the Tigers this season. In the 14-5 win, the Tigers ran away with the victory starting in the third inning. By the start of the fifth, Princeton had accumulated a 7-2 lead. However, the Tigers were far from done.

In the sixth inning alone, the Tigers scored seven runs. A majority of those runs came from a grand slam by senior catcher Andrew Christie. As senior co-captain Danny Hoy explained, “We went nuts for his grand slam.”

Battling both the harsh winds and the memories of last season, the Tigers proved their might this weekend. Looking ahead, Hoy explained that this weekend’s victories give the Tigers even more confidence. The senior co-captain said, “We feel good right now. We are a really confident team defensively.”

Turning to the Ivy League schedule, the Tigers will face Yale and Brown this coming weekend. Both the Bulldogs and the Bears have struggled this season, so the games should play out in Princeton’s favor. However, the remaining games against Cornell, Columbia and Penn will pose a major test for the soaring Tigers. As Hoy put it, “The next weekend is going to be really important for us. It is one of those things where we can’t take a game off. Take it one game at a time.”