In a home series against the Brown Bears (9–21 overall, 5–10 Ivy League), the Princeton baseball team (10–26, 6–8) dropped two of three games as their Ivy League tournament hopes continue to spiral. Now clinging to a tournament spot by just half a game, the Tigers find themselves a lot closer to the bottom of the Ivy League than the top — facing competition below from Cornell, Brown, Harvard, and Dartmouth, all within two games of the Tigers.
Over the past few weeks, offense has been a major issue for the Tigers, who averaged under three runs during a challenging eight-game stretch of conference games. That was not the case this weekend, as the bats came to life with twenty runs across the series. However, the Tigers’ pitching faltered, falling victim to the big inning and blowing late leads in the final two games of the series.
“We need to play solid baseball in every phase of the game and get timely hitting,” Head Coach Scott Bradley told The Daily Princetonian after the disappointing series. “We had leads late into all three games against Brown and only came away with one win.”
Bold’s slam carries Tigers to Game 1 Triumph
For most of the season, the Tigers’ offense has been junior infielder Jake Koonin and junior catcher Jake Bold. They are the only Princeton hitters with an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) over .700, an average figure. The team average OPS this season is .623, compared to last year’s .751. This drop has been no fault of either player, however, as Bold carries an elite .920 OPS and Koonin an .881.
On Saturday, both players continued to impress as Koonin went 2–4 with a walk, home run, and two RBI while Bold went 1–3 with a walk, home run, and four RBI. The dynamic duo got going early, as Koonin singled in the game’s opening run in the third inning.
After a bunt single from senior outfielder Caden Shapiro loaded the bases, Bold came to the plate looking to ambush the first pitch.
“Hitting with the bases loaded and no outs has to be the easiest position to be in, so I am thankful to Caden, Jake and Grant,” Bold told the ‘Prince.’ “I am super confident in my ability to get on base and work counts, but it helps the team more when I can drive guys in, and those guys did a great job setting the table that inning.”
The Brown pitcher’s first offering was a letter-high fastball, and Bold went with it with authority, driving it to the opposite field and well over the fence for a game-changing grand slam. The Tigers led 5–0, and were now firmly in the driver’s seat. But, in a rough fifth inning for the Tigers, this lead was flipped on its head as senior starting pitcher Andrew D’Alessio surrendered five runs as Brown tied the game. An inning-opening error meant that all but one of the runs were unearned, but the damage was done regardless.
In a rough fifth inning for the Tigers, senior starting pitcher Andrew D’Alessio surrendered five runs as Brown tied the game. An inning-opening error meant that all but one of the runs were unearned, but the damage was done regardless.
The Tiger offense picked up their starter shortly after, scoring two runs in the sixth and another in the eighth on Koonin’s solo home run to go up 8–6. Junior reliever Justin Kim was stellar in relief, conceding just one run across four innings of work and earning the win as the Tigers took the opener, 8–6.
Game 2 Gets Away
The Tigers sent out senior Jacob Faulkner, traditionally a reliever, to start in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Faulkner tossed seven innings of four-run ball, but was credited with the loss as the Bears won 7–4.
For Faulkner, starting provides a very different challenge than pitching in relief. “For me, starts are all about pacing my intensity, while relieving is throwing everything I’ve got at them from the start,” he explained to the ‘Prince.’
Things initially looked good for the Tigers, as the first three batters reached in the bottom of the first to load the bases. Sophomore third baseman Jake Kernodle, batting in the cleanup spot, went down 0–2 in the count but then kept the carousel going with a single through the right side of the infield that plated Koonin for the game’s opening run. A wild pitch allowed another run to score, and the Tigers started the game up 2–0.
From there, things were in control for a while as Faulkner cruised through six innings of one-run ball. In the seventh, however, he unraveled as Brown strung together three two-out singles and a walk to drive in three runners and put the Tigers down 4–2. The Bears added three more in the eighth, and a two-RBI single by Shapiro in the bottom of the eighth wasn’t enough for the Tigers to fight back. Brown won the second game, 7–4, as all eyes turned to the rubber match on Sunday.
Bullpen Melts Down in Game 3
At the tail end of the series’ third game on Sunday, it appeared as though the Tigers would secure a Senior Day victory without much trouble. Princeton led 5–3 into the eighth inning, thanks in part to a pair of RBI singles by Kernodle and strong pitching from first-years Liam Kinneen and Nick Shenefelt.
In the top of the eighth inning, however, things went awry for Princeton. Normally reliable, Justin Kim collapsed to allow three runs. Faulkner soon swapped in but fared little better, giving up two more singles and allowing a pair of Kim’s runs to score.
In the bottom of the ninth, with their backs to the wall, the Tiger offense found three runs to tie the game. Three walks set the table for senior infielder Kevin Blowers, who rewarded his teammates’ patience with an opposite-field single over the second baseman to drive in two. Two batters later, a near-identical single from first-year infielder Grant Werdesheim tied the game and gave the Tigers short-term hope going into extra innings.
From there, things went sour again. Senior catcher-turned-reliever Kaden Kram gave up four runs, allowing the first four runners to reach base before being pulled for sophomore Elliott Eaton. Eaton allowed the next two runners to reach as well before bearing down and recording three straight outs. The damage was done, though, and the Tigers went down in the bottom of the frame to lose the game and the series in extras, 12–8.
Whichever team can pull themselves out of this mess and earn the fourth and final spot in the Ivy League Tournament will need to do so quickly. The Tigers head to New Haven next for a series against the Bulldogs (22–12, 10–5) before closing things out against Cornell (11–16, 6–9).
It is imperative that the Tigers survive Yale and then beat Cornell – winning two of three against both will likely be the minimum needed to qualify for the tournament.
“Needless to say that this is a critical series for us,” Coach Bradley told the ‘Prince.’ “Yale is playing very well and are tailor made for their ballpark.”
Joe Uglialoro is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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