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Baseball Preps to Defend Ivy Title in 2012
March 01, 2012 | Baseball
Coming off a thrilling year, where a seventh Ivy League Championship was won and an 11th NCAA Tournament appearance was made, the Princeton baseball team returns to action ready to defend its crown. This season the Tigers will have to rely on a veteran core and contributions from the newcomers along the way to maintain their stance on the top of the Ivy League standings.
"The thing we've tried to stress to our guys this years, in terms of our work ethic and how we've done things, is that we are not going to surprise anyone this year. We aren't going to surprise anyone at all. We had a great stretch last year and we were able to win, but we also won a lot of really close games last year," said head coach Scott Bradley, who is entering his 15th season at the helm of the program.
After a difficult 2010 season, where Princeton went 12-30 overall, 6-14 Ivy League, the Tigers responded in dominating fashion to boast 23 wins, including a 15-6 conference record.
"Coming off the type of season we had the year before (in 2010), the expectations we very low. Not amongst us, but amongst the media and other people. In every poll that came out we were picked to be at or near the bottom. It just shows that in the Ivy League it (does not have) to be a gradual process," explained Bradley.
In 2011, several newcomers were called on to take on vital roles in the lineup. With a season of experience under their belts, the Tiger roster is experienced, motivated, but most of all knows how to grind out close games.
"In baseball, that's kind of contagious. We were 15-6 in the league last year and we won 12 games by two or less runs. Most of these games were coming down to one swing of the bat, one pitch, one at bat and we were able to play well in those situations. It doesn't take much for those situations to switch around and makes you go from a 15-6 season to 10-10 season," Bradley commented.
With the season ready to commence, Bradley and his staff took a different approach to the preseason. The squad returns all nine starters from last year and a deeper rotation then in years past.
"This year going into all of our preseason practice has been more about getting guys ready to play, as opposed to seeing what they are capable of doing. I think all of the coaches, the one thing we saw (is) we have depth. We have a lot of good baseball players. It will make it interesting. Our philosophy always early in the year, before we start Ivy League (play), is to almost let our team develop. So we will run a lot of different lineups out. We will play a lot of different guys, we will move some guys around a bit so we can have a pretty good understanding of what they are capable of doing by the time we start the Ivy League season," said Bradley.
Much will revolve around the pitchers, as the depth of the team begins on the mound. With 13 different players able to throw innings, the Tigers will have the ability to call upon different players to get a final out or throw relief innings.
"I think most of the excitement revolves around our pitching staff. Not only are they talented, but experienced at this point. They have had success and (we return) pretty much all the guys who pitched important innings for us last year. We lost Matt Grabowski and David Palms, who provided us some depth and gave us some innings, but everyone else is back and we think is better."
"Zak Hermans, Matt Bowman, Mike Ford, Kevin Link, Michael Fagan and A.J. Goetz - those guys have a chance to be really be very good. I would think, as we get going, those are going to be the guys to be pitching the majority of league innings because they have the experience," answered Bradley.
In addition, senior Ryan Makis and freshmen Tyler Foote and Danny Thomson, will be looked to take over some relief or midweek innings. For the newcomers, Bradley anticipates this year to be one of learning and building their talent.
Princeton's infield really came on strong as the season progressed, with several players taking over starting spots midway through the year. Players like Jonathan York, who hit over .300 as a freshman, and Alex Flink really stood out in the second half of the season. When he is not pitching, Bowman will be starting at shortstop, while fellow pitcher Ford, who was named to several freshmen All-America teams, will also bulk up the infield. Alec Keller will also be in that mix and is a versatile player.
"I think that was the fun part of our team last year. We had four or five guys who could play all over the place. We'd run them in and out. You'd start a game, if you had to pinch hit or pinch run, you had players that you could move around. We could do a lot of things," Bradley said.
Senior Sam Mulroy, last year's leader in nearly every offensive statistical category, will look to maintain his stance as a power hitter for the Tigers. A team co-captain, his leadership will also be relied on, whether behind that plate catching games, playing in the outfield or in the dugout. Backing up Mulroy will be Bobby Geren, who saw action in 19 games last season.
"Bobby did a really nice job for us as a second catcher. We play so many games, especially the doubleheader Saturday and Sunday weekends. I think the reason Sam had the type of year offensively he did was (because) we didn't have to catch him all the time," commented Bradley.
Senior Tom Boggiano joins Mulroy as a fellow co-captain. Boggiano, also a member of Princeton's ROTC, is solid defensive centerfielder. He also improved his overall game last season, especially on the offensive end.
Joining Boggiano in the outfield on the corners are Nate Baird and John Mishu. The junior duo both possess power at the plate and can hit home runs and steal bases.
In addition to the veteran core in the defense, Bradley echoes that the team has a lot of depth and versatility. At any moment there are several players who can go into a game, from returners to seeing what the freshmen can provide.
"We can only play nine guys at a time, but we really have some flexibility to be able to run guys here and there (in) different spots and get some different guys some at bats. We can play platoon type baseball, with righties and lefties ... We can pinch run for somebody and still have a good replacement to go into the field defensively. It will be a good problem for us in terms of trying to split at bats," explained Bradley.
As for the freshmen, this year will give them the opportunity to come in and get adjusted to the college game. With such an experienced group commanding the starting positions right now, the freshmen will be called upon in different roles and Bradley and his staff can evaluate what they are capable of doing.
"Last year we had big holes that had to be filled by freshmen; we don't have that this year. We really can take our time and give the freshmen opportunities, but it is not like they are counted on to really to carry the load like last season," Bradley said.
With preseason practices coming to a close, the Tigers will travel to Florida Atlantic to open the year with a four-game series from Mar. 2-4. This season's slate includes high-level competition, including a nationally ranked St. John's team, Rutgers and Seton Hall.
"We try to play good teams. To me our guys want to challenge themselves and want to see just where they stand. To be able to go to Florida Atlantic, who swept Alabama already this season, and play a four-game series, to go to South Carolina who is the two-time defending National Champion and play in front of 8,000 fans each game ...When you have big situations in big games, our guy are on it," said Bradley.
Early on, the experience of playing high caliber teams and improving is key for the Tigers. They may play a little more conservatively, especially on the mound, initially in order to prepare for the Ivy slate, which begins at home on Saturday, Mar. 31 versus Dartmouth, as their ultimate goal is another Ivy League title and the opportunity to play in the NCAAs.