Baseball collapses against Harvard in final series of season, putting postseason hopes to rest

Princeton baseball (15–27 overall, 8–13 Ivy League) entered this past weekend’s series against Harvard (11–26, 9–12) with postseason dreams still alive. After a poor stretch of form, the Tigers seemed to be turning things around in conference play with series wins against Columbia (15–23-1, 10–10–1), Penn (20–20, 14–7), and Dartmouth (15–22, 7–11). Still, Princeton would need to sweep Harvard in order to have a significant chance of making the Ivy League Championship Tournament. Instead, the Tigers got swept in what was a disappointing finish for the young team.

Princeton takes early lead, falls victim to Harvard surge to lose opener

With their season on the line, the Tigers had a promising start to the first game of Saturday’s double header, as junior infielder Tommy Googins blasted a two-run homer in the second inning. Princeton’s hopes looked even rosier as senior infielder Jake Koonin followed it up with an extra base hit, bringing the score to 3–0.

In the fifth and sixth innings, things fell apart for the Tigers. Princeton gave up four in the sixth and six runs in the fifth, without any runs of their own. Harvard’s Jordan Kang went off, with a three-run homer and three additional RBI’s adding up to six of the Crimson’s runs.

That was basically the game, as Harvard was able to coast on their scoring surge and the Tigers were unable to come up with any answers. The lead they held in the first four innings would prove to be one of their last in the series.

“Baseball is an odd game,” senior pitcher Justin Kim wrote to The Daily Princetonian after the series. “Harvard had been struggling for most of the season with hitting, yet they came ready to play this weekend and picked up momentum in the first game and didn't look back.”

“For the most part, the pitching staff didn't bring our best game over the weekend and Harvard's lineup took advantage of our mistakes,” Kim continued.

Tiger comeback falls short to go down 2–0 and lose the series

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, it was Harvard who secured the early lead. The Crimson scored twice in the first inning and held a 5–0 lead after the top of the fifth inning. The Tigers, however, were not going to go gentle into that good night. They answered with three runs as Googins and sophomore infielder Isaac Lamson earned RBIs. 

In the sixth inning, Harvard scored another two runs, but once more the Tigers would not go away; Princeton cut the lead to two in the eighth with two more runs, batted in by junior infielder Jake Kernodle and junior catcher/utility Dylan Zdunek. 

Finally, Princeton succumbed to a 7–5 loss after a scoreless ninth inning. The Tigers’ postseason chances were now decisively eliminated.

Princeton baseball season comes to disappointing finale as Harvard clinches sweep

With emotions doubtless running high, and little to play for in the way of postseason ramifications, this season’s Princeton baseball team took the field for the last time on Sunday. Taking the mound for his last appearance as a Tiger was Kim, who was honored on Princeton’s senior day.

“It was a surreal experience,” Kim wrote. “I remember being a freshman watching the senior day celebration thinking it was so far away… It also made me realize that time flies like crazy and every moment should be cherished.”

Harvard got out to an early lead, going up 3–0 in the first inning. Sophomore catcher Will Robbins had an RBI to cut the lead to two, but then Harvard had another six run inning in the fifth, making it 9–1 and effectively putting the game away.

The Tigers did strike back. Robbins had a two-run single, and Googins hit yet another home run in what was a spectacular weekend for him. Finally, first-year pitcher/utility Brady Kaufman added an RBI in the eighth. None of this proved enough, however, as Princeton fell to Harvard 11–6 in an anticlimactic series finale.

“On the defensive side, we suffered five errors and multiple mental mistakes that cost us in big moments,” Kim wrote of the series on the whole. “Ultimately, we didn’t bring our best game this weekend and Harvard did.”

“It was a disappointing weekend for us!” head coach Scott Bradley wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Big innings for Harvard hurt us and their pitching was able to hold us down!”

“I have always had a profound appreciation for the brotherhood that this team has and the lifelong relationships created through it,” Kim wrote, reflecting on his time as a Tiger.

“Going forward in life, I want to take with me the mentality of gratitude and appreciation,” Kim continued. “It’s very hard to understand what you have in the moment, but once the beginning becomes the end, you realize you didn’t take it all in and appreciate what you had in the moment.”

Despite a disheartening end to the season, Bradley is hopeful for the future.

“We had a very young team with the majority of our starters being first or second year student-athletes! The future is bright!”

Julian Benkin Danoff is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’

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