This Wednesday in West Long Branch, men’s baseball (12–16 overall , 5–4 Ivy League) played anything but hospitable in their dominating win against the Monmouth Hawks (12–16, 3–10 Colonial). The game was an offensive display for the Tigers, as none of the eight pitchers that the Hawks rotated in could stop the flow of 16 hits that ended with Princeton winning 17–11.
“Mid-week games are interesting because they always hold a bunch of different pitching,” said Head Coach Scott Bradley to The Daily Princetonian. “I am very proud of our offense and at-bats. To win a game going into Columbia [this weekend] should give us some confidence.”
The game started hot for the Tigers, with first-year catcher Jake Bold sending one down center field for three runs. First-year pitcher Will Sword paralleled play on defense, only letting in one hit for points to close out the first inning with Princeton winning 3–1.
“It’s always super important to get out to a lead in the top of the first,” said Bold to the ‘Prince.’ “It was nice to get some momentum and give our starting pitcher some wiggle room. Once we added on in the second, it almost felt like the game was already out of reach [of the other team].”
The top of the second featured more of the same for the men’s team, with senior infielder Noah Granet and junior outfielder Scott Bandura each earning their first hit-for-runs of the day. Senior outfielder Brendan Cumming also walked for a run, ending the second inning up 6–1.
Junior outfielder and pitcher Matt Scannell and junior first baseman Kyle Vinci got their hats in the ring in the top of the third, along with Cumming and Bandura each adding to their runs batted in (RBI). This inning was the start of Bandura’s star offense, where his two-run single hit behind first base produced his second and third RBIs of the game.
The Hawks pushed back in the bottom of the third to score three runs. By the end of a no-run fourth inning, the score of the game was 11–4 as the Tigers’ momentum mounted.
Bandura continued to shine in the fifth and sixth innings, hitting another scoring single in the fifth and a two-run hit in the top of the sixth. Junior infielder Nick DiPietrantonio got one of his own as well, and the sixth inning closed 15–5 Princeton with a single score coming from Monmouth.
Yet, a runless top of the seventh felt like a shift in momentum for the Tigers, as the bottom of the inning held five runs from the Hawks against senior pitcher Caden MacDonald, cutting the Tigers’ lead in half by the inning’s conclusion.
“We spend a lot of time instilling that the most important time in baseball is the ‘next one,’” said Bradley about this difficult inning. “This is where we separate offensive and defensive play, knowing we were still working up by five runs. We prioritized strong hitting to ensure our lead, which helped to make the last inning less stressful.”
“After a tough inning our team has been great at not dwelling on the past, but instead we’ve been able to move on and focus on the next pitch or the next play so we can get the momentum back in our favor,” Vinci echoed to the ‘Prince.’
Sophomore Kaden Kram led a rally back for the Tigers to lock in the win, hitting a double down the line of left field for two more runs. The Hawks only scored one more run in the bottom of the ninth, closing the game at a strong 17–11 win for Princeton.
Eight different Princeton players had RBIs during Wednesday’s matchup, demonstrating the team's well-roundedness and offensive control.
“Our team absolutely feeds off of each other,” said Vinci. “Whether it’s a strong defensive inning or a strong offensive inning we love to get energy from each other. When our pitchers go out and throw strikes and get a quick inning, the hitters start feeling good and putting everything together. We’ve gotten so close as a team throughout the year that when a few of us start playing well, we all feed off of that and everyone goes out and competes for each other.”
Along with the collective success, Scott Bandura clearly had a standout performance, having six RBIs on four hits. This is only one part of his record-setting season, including a 12-game hitting streak, 10 multi-hit games, and a streak of 20 on-base games. He is currently ranked No. 49 nationally for doubles per game, and No. 43 nationally for batting average.
“It's been fun to watch Scott all year,” said Bradley. “He came into this season healthy, and he has great baseball sense and ability. His season was initially a little slow, but then he had that big game against Georgia and that catapulted his season. His presence on the team makes everyone better.”
The win was an important one for the Tigers, defying their previous 2–9 away record against the Hawks to gain confidence heading into an important weekend against Columbia (17–11, 7–2).
“Our mindset doesn't change going into a big weekend,” continued Bradley. “Every time we go out, we just think we have to win a nine inning game. We focus on the game-at-hand and don’t look too far ahead. Columbia has had some great results against Power Five teams over the break, so we need to continue strong pitching and offense.”
The team will return home to play at Clark Field this Saturday in a three-game series against the Lions, who currently lead the Ivy League. Offensive domination like Wednesday’s game could be the difference between the Tigers flourishing to first in the conference or them losing any shot at leading the pack.
Ava Seigel is a contributor to the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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