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Princeton University Athletics
Great Pitching, Timely Hitting Gives Tigers the Title
May 06, 2000 | Baseball
May 6, 2000
Box Score
PRINCETON, N.J. - For the first time since 1996, the Princeton baseball team will be participating in the NCAA tournament as Ivy League champions. The Tigers got a near-perfect pitching performance from Chris Young (So., Dallas, Texas) in Game 1 and solid defensive play and timely hitting in Game 2. Princeton (24-18) took the best-of-three series over Dartmouth (29-14) in two games by scores of 5-2 and 4-3.
Young kept his perfect record intact and is now 5-0 on the season after throwing a complete game four-hitter with seven strikeouts and three walks. He gave up only one earned run.
Buster Small (Sr., Alpharetta, Ga.) got the Tigers on the scoreboard first with his second home run of his career in the second inning. Mickey Martin (Jr., Bridgewater, N.J.) followed that with a double and scored on a ground out by Ryan Achterberg (So., Corona del Mar, Calif.). Dartmouth scored two runs in the fourth inning to tie the game at two. Mike Mileusnic hit an RBI single to score Brian Nickerson. Princeton pulled ahead for good in the eighth inning when Pat Boran (So., Pottsville, Pa.) hit a an RBI single over a drawn in infield to score Tim Phillips (Jr., Audubon, Pa.) who had reached on a single and advance to third on an error by the right fielder. After Andrew Hanson (Jr., Cumberland, Maine) hit a single to advance Boran to third, Max Krance (Jr., South Nyack, N.Y.) hit into a force play to score Boran with all the insurance run that Young would not need. Yound sent the Green down in order in the ninth for the win.
Jon Watterson (Jr., Keene, N.H.) was a quiet 3 for 5. Hanson and Eric Voelker (So., Medford, N.J.) were each 3 for 4.
Dartmouth threw its ace pitcher, Conor Brooks, in the second game. Brooks came into the game with an 8-1 record, his only loss coming to defending national champion Miami (Fla.). In the third inning, the Princeton bats caught up with his curve ball. Hanson hit a line-drive double down the left field line to score two runs and give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Achterberg hit a bloop single over another drawn in infield to score two more runs in the fourth inning.
Starting pitcher Jason Quintana (Sr., Chester, N.J.) was effective through the first five innings. The senior co-captain left the game in the sixth after giving up five hits and striking out five. All three of Dartmouth's runs were charged to Quintana.
Princeton's closer, David Boehle (Fr., Redwood, City, Calif.) entered the game with the tying run on second base to relieve Tom Rowland (So., Lake Bluff, Ill.) with one out in the eighth inning. Boehle got out of the jam in the eighth by throwing a ground out and getting Yale Dieckmann to strike out looking. In the ninth, Boehle walked the leadoff hitter who was then sacrificed to second with a bunt. After a fly out to center field, Boehle struck out Michael Levy on a change up to end the game and the series.
Martin, Krance, Hanson and Watterson were all 2 for 4. Hanson had two RBIs as did Achterberg who was 1 for 3.
"We did the little things well, just as we did all season," said Princeton student coach Ryan Cotton. "Chris pitched a gem in Game 1, our hitting rattled Brooks early and our defense held up in Game 2. It was a great day of baseball."
Princeton receives the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and will find out its fate on May 22.