Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Harvard (ILCS Game 1)
Princeton Sweeps Harvard to Earn Ivy Crown
May 06, 2006 | Baseball
May 6, 2006
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - The Princeton baseball team swept Harvard 9-3 and 8-2 to win its sixth Ivy League Championship in 11 years on Saturday afternoon at O'Donnell Field. The Tigers never trailed in the opener on the strength of home runs by senior Zach Wendkos and junior Sal Iacono, and two-run hits by Iacono and senior Stephen Wendell in the nightcap propelled the Tiger win. Wendkos had four hits on the day and drove in five as he and his senior classmates won their third Ivy title.
GAME 1
Princeton jumped to an early lead in the first game and never trailed as the Tigers jumped to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. Senior Zach Wendkos homered and drove in four in the win, while junior Sal Iacono had a two-run homer and freshman Dan Degeorge had a two-run single. Senior Erik Stiller pitched a complete game and earned the win.
In the first inning, senior Andrew Salini drew a two-out walk and Wendkos made Harvard pay as he hit a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left center. The homer was his eighth of the season and gave Princeton a lead it would not relinquish. Princeton extended the lead with three runs in the third to make the score 5-0. DeGeorge hit a leadoff single and was bunted over to second. He scored on a Salini single up the middle and Salini scored when Iacono hit his third home run of the season to left field. Harvard cut the lead to 5-3 with its only runs of the game with three in the fourth inning. Singles by Steffan Wilson and Matt Brunnig put two on and a Morgan Brown single scored the first run. Two more runs scored when Chris Mackey singled up the middle.
The score remained 5-3 until Princeton scored four runs in the eighth for the final score of 9-3. With one out, senior Stephen Wendell singled up the middle and went to scored when sophomore Spencer Lucian singled up the middle. After a fielder's choice, DeGeorge singled to center to score two runs. A walk to junior Aaron Prince and a wild pitch on a third strike to Salini loaded the bases for Wendkos, who again deelivered, this time with a double to right center to plate two runs and give the Tigers a 9-3 lead.
Stiller pitched nine innings allowed nine hits and three runs, while striking out six. He improved to 4-3 with the win. Shawn Haviland took the loss for Harvard.
GAME 2
After Harvard took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning, Princeton came back to score seven runs in the sixth inning to
In the fifth inning, Taylor Meehan hit a one-out single to put a man aboard. He stole second, went to third on a single and scored on a wild pitch.
Princeton answered back in the sixth inning with seven runs to take the lead. The whole rally began when DeGeorge reached on a fielding error, then wound up on second on a failed pickoff attempt. He was bunted to third as the Tigers looked to plate a tying run with Salini at the plate. Salini was hit by an 0-2 pitch to bring up Wendkos to the plate, and he came through with another clutch hit to put Princeton on the scoreboard with a double down the left field line. Tied at 1-1, Iacono stepped to the plate and came through with another run-scoring hit, this time a double down the right field line to score two runs and make the Princeton lead 3-1.
With Iacono on, sophomore Micah Kaplan walked and after a pitching change, both he and Iacono moved up a base on a passed ball. Then it was Wendell who came through with a two-run single as he gave Princeton a 5-1 lead. The scoring continued when the next batter, Lucian, doubled home Wendell. DeGeorge, who started the inning, ending the scoring with a single to score Wendell and give Princeton the 7-1 lead after six complete innings.
Harvard got a run back in the seventh when Meehan singled, went to third on a doubled by Casey, and scored on Matt Vance's RBI-groundout.
Sophomore Christian Staehely picked up the win after tossing six and a third innings. He scattered two runs and six hits and improved to 5-1. Junior Eric Walz pitched the final two and two-thirds and did not allow a hit. Princeton tacked on a final run when Wendell's fielder's choice plated Salini.
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Princeton will get its NCAA assignment on Monday, May 29 when ESPN airs the selections at 12:30 pm. Regional games will take place at 16 different sites from June 2-5. The Tigers are now 18-23-1.