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Princeton University Athletics
Baseball Opens 2006 Season at The Citadel
March 02, 2006 | Baseball
March 2, 2006
PRINCETON - With snow, sleet and freezing rain threatening and temperatures in the Princeton area forecasted to be in the 30s, the Princeton baseball team prepares to open its season 730 miles to the south in Charleston, S.C., against The Citadel, where the temperature will be in the high 60s. The Tigers and Bulldogs will play four games, including a doubleheader on Saturday at Riley Park.
While the games are the first of the season for Princeton, The Citadel has been in action since Feb. 10, and is currently 6-3 on the season after defeating Le Moyne 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon.
Princeton and The Citadel last met in the 2001 NCAA Regionals, when the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 11-6 in a game played at Columbia, S.C. Overall, the teams are 3-3 against each other.
Friday's game will be played at 4 p.m. as the start time was moved up two hours because the teams added a doubleheader on Saturday. That doubleheader begins at 12 noon. Sunday's series finale begins at 1 p.m. Fans can follow along with all four games with Gametracker. Links can be found on the baseball schedule page.
2006 Princeton Baseball Outlook
The 2006 Princeton baseball team will enter the upcoming season with something to prove. After nine consecutive Gehrig Division titles, five Ivy League Championships and five NCAA tournament appearances in a nine-year span, Princeton's decade as one of the Ivy League's best teams hit a bump in 2005 as the Tigers were edged for the Gehrig Division crown by Cornell.
Princeton enters 2006 ready to reclaim its place as one of the league's elite and will need each player's best in order to get there. Over the past few seasons, the Princeton roster has boasted not only some of the Ivy League's most talented players, but some of the most talented players in the nation, as six Princeton players have been drafted in the first 20 rounds of the Major League Baseball entry draft over the past three years.
"The first thing you will notice about our team this year is that we do not have the professional prospects that we have had in the past few years," says head coach Scott Bradley. "With that, we will have to compete harder than we have in the past few years. We have gotten in trouble in the past by relying on our `star' players to bail us out. This year it will be up to everyone to step up their games and provide is with the jump we need." Bradley will look to an experienced starting rotation and infield to lead a team that will have a new outfield and inexperience in the bullpen.
"We have a solid returning nucleus, especially on the mound," says Bradley. "We also have a very good group of newcomers that can definitely compete and be successful early in their careers."
The returning core and the cast of newcomers will have to work to overcome the losses of a season ago. Gone are Princeton's top hitter, its closer, an important situational pitcher from the bullpen and a solid hitting outfielder.
Will Venable led the Tiger offense last season with a .385 batting average, 33 RBIs, nine home runs and 17 extra-base hits. Venable, who was drafted by the San Diego Padres, joined their Class A team in Eugene, Ore., in the summer after graduating and has embarked on a pro career.
Adam Balkan also graduated from the Princeton outfield last season after four years of patrolling left field. Balkan finished second all-time in games played for the Tigers and capped his senior year by batting .284 with 17 RBIs for Princeton in 2005.
Two other Princeton players started their professional careers last summer as well, doing so as teammates for the Seattle Mariners Rookie League team. Relievers Brian Kappel and Worth Lumry each played important roles in the Princeton bullpen last season. Kappel was Princeton's closer for the past two seasons and anchored the Tiger bullpen. He graduated second on the Tigers career list for saves and was 2-1 with a 2.01 ERA and six saves in 16 appearances last season.
Lumry, a left-handed submariner, made 15 appearances, often to get left-handed batters out in key situations. As the lone lefty on the Tiger staff last season, he played an important role.
With the graduation of those four players and offseason injuries, Princeton will start 2006 with a lack of depth, especially early in the season.
The Tiger coaching staff will look to its six new players to help fill the roles of those departed. Five of those players are position players - Derek Beckman (CF), Dan Degeorge (INF), Andrew Doupe (OF), Adrian Turnham (C), and Eric Zaziski (1B/OF). Only one of those is a pitcher - Brad Gemberling. Unfortunately, the Tigers will be without Zaziski for all of his freshman season as he suffered a season-ending knee injury during the winter.
"We are going to play a lot of different players in different positions early to try and figure out what works," says Bradley. "With our injuries, it is on the guys that we have healthy to step up their games and contribute to our success."
THE PITCHING STAFF
All four of Princeton's usual weekend starters return in 2006. Three of the starters have been together in the rotation for three seasons now, while the fourth is in his second year in the group. The group is led by senior Erik Stiller, who was named first-team All-Ivy last season.
Stiller made nine starts and posted a 6-2 record last season with a 2.98 ERA. After a loss and a no-decision, Stiller won six-straight starts in the middle of the season. He allowed just 55 hits and 18 earned runs in 54.1 innings pitched, walking just 11 batters and striking out 49. He was the New Jersey College Baseball Association's Pitcher of the Year. Stiller has also claimed two pre-season honors this year, being named to Baseball America's preseason all-league team and being honored as the preseason Ivy Pitcher of the Year by Collegiate Baseball Magazine.
"Stiller just had a great junior year," says Bradley. "He was consistent all year and should be so again in 2006. He provides us with a consistent front-end to our pitching rotation."
Joining Stiller on the weekend rotation will be juniors Gavin Fabian and Eric Walz, along with sophomore Christian Staehely. The trio all showed moments in 2006 but were unable to find the consistency to be effective game-in and game-out.
"Those three all had their moments," continues Bradley. "All three have shown that they can be unhittable at times. We hope that they can harness that to put together a steady full season."
Fabian was 2-5 for the Tigers last season with a 4.72 ERA in 53.1 innings. He picked up wins in back-to-back games early in the season against Old Dominion and Stony Brook, but struggled to find his form in the second half of the season. As a freshman, Fabian was 4-3 with a 3.48 ERA in 75 innings, walking just four batters all season.
Walz was 1-2 with a 5.01 ERA in 2005, but earned a no-decision in his best outing of the season. He did pick up a win against Penn, but his two-hit, one-strikeout performance against Columbia went unrewarded in a 2-1 loss.
Staehely started the year as a mid-week starter, but transitioned to the weekend rotation at the start of the Northern schedule. He had a strong early season outing against Rutgers, in which he allowed two hits and a run in four innings, and picked up his first win of the season in Ivy action against Cornell. He finished the year 1-4 with a 5.60 ERA in 45 innings.
"All four starters have good control and can take over a game," says Bradley.
While the front end of the Princeton staff is relatively set, there is a bit of uncertainty in the bullpen. With the graduation of Kappel and Lumry, two important role pitchers, the Tigers will look to others to pick up the slack created by their departures.
"We are certainly going to miss Kappel," says Bradley. "For two years when we had a close game late, we have given the ball to him and he was very successful at it."
Coach Bradley expects sophomore Steven Miller to step into that role after a successful freshman year. Miller went 2-0 with a 2.78 ERA in 16 appearances last season in middle relief.
"With Miller, we had a chance to groom our next closer," says Bradley. "We tried to put him in important situations last year so he could learn the closer's mentality and we are confident that he can handle himself in that role."
With the graduation of Lumry, the lone southpaw in last year's bullpen, Bradley and his staff expect junior Michael Zaret to pitch significant innings for the team, especially against left-handed batters. Zaret made seven appearances as a freshman, picking up a save and striking out 12 in 15.2 innings. He spent the majority of last season recovering from a blood clot in his shoulder. He did make one appearance.
"Zaret has healed well," says Bradley. "We like what we have seen in the offseason and he, along with freshman Brad Gemberling, will be important to our bullpen."
Gemberling, one of four local freshmen, comes to the Tigers from Strath Haven High School in suburban Philadelphia. The all-county and all-league pitcher will see a lot of innings for Princeton this spring.
The remaining four pitchers in the Tiger pen all enter the season with uncertainty, as all are returning from injuries.
Junior Wills Sweney and sophomore Reid Peyton pitched last season for Princeton, but both spent much of the offseason rehabbing, Sweney from shoulder surgery and Peyton from a shoulder in jury.
Sweney, Baseball America's top-rated prospect in the Ivy League, was Princeton's mid-week starter last year. He struggled early in the season to find his control but pitched well later in the season, holding Monmouth to two hits in seven innings in a shutout win and allowing one run and one hit in a win against Rider.
Peyton, a right-handed side-armed pitcher, appeared in seven games last season. He had a 3.86 ERA in 9.1 innings.
Sophomores Evan Alexander and Stephen Richter both missed their entire freshman seasons recovering from injuries. Alexander had Tommy John surgery last winter, while Richter had shoulder surgery.
AROUND THE HORN-
BEHIND THE PLATE
Senior Zach Wendkos and junior Sal Iacono will again split the catching duties as the pair platoon between catcher and third base. Wendkos had a breakout year in 2005, and Bradley expects Iacono to have a season like that in 2006.
"Zach just had a great year," says Bradley. "He came up with hits when we needed them and was one of our most steady hitters. He also calls a great game behind the plate. Sal is poised to have a season like that this year. His time is now."
Wendkos batted .328 with 42 hits and 16 RBIs for Princeton last year. He had 11 extra-base hits and three home runs. He capped the year with a second-team All-Ivy selection. Iacono battled through an early-season slump and continued to improve his batting average throughout the season, finishing at .253. He had 17 RBIs and 14 extra-base hits.
"Zach will play a lot behind the plate this season," says Bradley. "He is so versatile that we can switch him and Sal between third and catching very effectively."
Freshman Adrian Turnham is a polished switch-hitter and will provide depth behind the plate for Princeton. He can also play first and third base, and his versatility will get him into the lineup. Junior Ian Shannon was expected to also add depth at catcher and designated hitter, but his third major knee injury in three years at Princeton will keep him on the sidelines this season.
THE INFIELDERS
Princeton returns its starters at all four infield positions but does not have a lot of depth behind them. At first base, senior Stephen Wendell returns after hitting .263 last season with 35 RBIs and four home runs.
"Wendell had a good year," says Bradley. "He found himself in a lot of run-producing situations and took advantage. We expect him to be a good leader for this team hitting in the middle of our lineup."
In the middle infield, junior Aaron Prince is back at second base, as is senior Matt Becker at shortstop. The pair worked together for a full season in 2005 and should be comfortable working with one another on balls hits up the middle and double-play balls. Although they saw the majority of play last year, the duo will be pushed by sophomore Spencer Lucian, who can play either position and saw action in 16 games as a freshman, and freshman Dan Degeorge, an all-conference, all-county and all-state player while at the Delbarton School in Northern New Jersey.
"Prince and Becker were the regulars in the middle infield last year and will be given the chance again this season," says Bradley. "But both Lucian and DeGeorge will push them and could play themselves into the lineup."
Iacono and Wendkos will platoon at third base in addition to their catching roles, but Iacono will see more of the action at third base. Turnham will see time at third base as well as first base.
THE OUTFIELDERS
Princeton's outfield will be two-thirds new in the 2006 season as last year's starting left and center fielders each graduated. Anchoring the new outfield will be a veteran, senior Andrew Salini, a career .333 hitter. Salini finished 2005 batting .371 to lead all returning players. He had five home runs and drove in 26 runs, and he spent most of the season over the .400 mark.
"The group will be led by Andy," says Bradley. "He is our leading hitter and one of our most dynamic players."
Freshman Derek Beckman will be given the opportunity to be the everyday center fielder. He is a fast player from Wall, N.J., who is a prototypical leadoff hitter.
"Derek has the chance to be a good leadoff guy for us," says Bradley. "He can bunt his way on, steal bases, turn singles into doubles and doubles in triples. He can also run down fly balls all over the outfield."
Sophomore Micah Kaplan and freshman Andrew Doupe will both see time in left field and at designated hitter. Kaplan saw limited time as a freshman, appearing in seven games in the outfield and at first base, while Doupe is a solid hitter that will be able to contribute to the Tiger offense.
The Princeton coaching staff had high expectations for freshman Eric Zaziski, but a season-ending knee injury during the winter will sideline him until his sophomore campaign.