Tigers win weekend series at Columbia 2–1

Princeton Baseball (9–21 overall, 4–8 Ivy League) traveled up to New York this weekend to face their in-conference rival, the Columbia Lions (8–20, 5–7). 

The Tigers are coming off a nine-game losing streak, including sweeps from two conference foes, Yale and Brown, and desperately needed to win this weekend to turn things around. 

“The Ivy League season hasn’t gotten off to an ideal start for us, but I think we’ve stuck together as a team really well and continue to fight for each other,” senior pitcher Justin Kim told The Daily Princetonian.

Game one

The first of two Saturday games got off to a fast start for the Tigers, with sophomore Liam Kinneen at the mound, allowing no runs for the Lions on their first outing. 

With bases loaded, junior infielder Jake Kernodle was hit by a pitch, bringing the first runner home. Then first-year pitcher/utility Brady Kaufman doubled, bringing in two more runs. First-year infielder Bennett Crerar singled through the right side of the infield to bring in Kernodle, and to finish the scoring for the inning, junior infielder Tommy Googins hit a sacrifice-bunt to bring in Kaufman, extending Princeton’s lead to 5–0. 

“We have improved offensively by cutting down on our strikeouts and putting more balls in play,” Head Coach Scott Bradley told the ‘Prince.’

The inning demonstrated the offense’s capacity for an electric performance. The top of the Tiger lineup can pile on the runs quickly if opposing pitchers don’t come to play.

A few base hits from Columbia during the third and fifth innings allowed them to close the gap on Princeton, bringing the score to 5–4. 

Senior infielder Jake Koonin responded with the power he brings to the plate with a grand slam that gave Princeton a commanding lead, 9–4. Later in the inning, Kaufman singled up the middle to extend the Tiger lead to seven runs. 

The Lions tried to rally in the seventh and eighth but came up short. In the end, the Princeton bats were too hot for Columbia to overcome, and the Orange and Black won 11–7.

Kinneen was credited with the win with six and two-thirds innings pitched, striking out five, and giving up six runs on six hits.

Game two

Junior pitcher Eliott Eaton started game two for Princeton, as they hoped to keep their momentum rolling from the first game of the day. Although the game ultimately took a turn, the Tigers did just that in the first. 

The top of the lineup came through again for Princeton to put up three runs behind RBI singles from Kernodle and first-year utility Joe Montembeau.  

“We had success because we had good at-bats 1–9 in the lineup, no matter who was in the game,” Koonin said. “Everyone fought for each other and we had some very big innings, as one hit turned into many.” 

However, this time the Lions answered with three runs of their own in the first inning to tie up the game.

Sophomore infielder Grant Werdesheim got Princeton back on top 4–3 with a base hit to left center which scored the runner from second.

Koonin continued his productive weekend as he batted in another run for the Tigers on a single up the middle. First-year Tomas Cernius added another run on a fielder’s choice, bringing the Tiger lead to 6–3.

The Lions added a run in the sixth, and unfortunately, the seventh inning was a good one for Columbia, as they were able to score four runs to take the lead. Princeton would be unable to overcome this seventh inning from Columbia and lost 8–6.

Senior pitcher Will Sword was credited with his second loss this year after a tough outing giving up four runs on three hits, three walks, and one hit-by-pitch. 

Game three

Sunday afternoon’s game was a lower scoring affair than Saturday’s games, thanks to the solid pitching from Kim and first-year pitcher Ryan Penney. 

The first run of the day came on a one-run homer from Columbia, but the Tigers struck back in the fourth.

Crerar was able to reach base on a throwing error, allowing Montembeau and Kaufman to score, giving Princeton a 2–1 lead. Googins then singled to right, bringing home Crerar, giving Princeton a two-run lead. 

In the sixth, Columbia scored, bringing the lead back down to one, but sophomore infielder Isaac Lamson brought the runner home from second with an RBI single in the eighth inning. This extended the Tiger lead 4–2 for the final run of the game.

Princeton’s pitching on Sunday was exceptional. Kim tallied his third win of the season in his six innings, throwing 118 pitches in which he produced nine strikeouts, while giving up only two runs on four hits. 

“Knowing that I can rely on my hitters to score runs and the bullpen to hold a lead, it takes stress off of me as a starter,” Kim told the ‘Prince.’ “I think we can definitely improve on playing to our potential; we’ve shown tremendous talent on both offense and defense.” 

Penney had a high-quality outing as well, throwing three shutdown innings, giving up just one hit and tallying three strikeouts.

While the season got off to a shaky start, with more weekends like this, Princeton has a real chance to turn things around this season. 

“The vibes are extremely high,” Koonin said. “Taking a series is a huge deal in the conference, and we are looking to build momentum going into next weekend versus Penn.”

Princeton faces Rider University (19–11 overall, 14–4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) at home on Wednesday afternoon, followed by a three-game series next Saturday and Sunday against Penn (14–15 overall, 8–4 Ivy League) at Clarke Field. 

Zeke Arnold is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.