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Baseball's Win Streak Reaches Five With Sweep Over Harvard
April 03, 2016 | Baseball
PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton baseball team extended its winning streak to five games as it swept the Harvard Crimson, 4-1 and 14-5, at Clarke Field on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers improved to 11-10 overall and 4-0 in the Ivy League with the wins.
The last time the baseball team was over .500 was after winning its first game of the 2012 season. It also marks the first time that the Tigers began Ivy League play with four straight wins at home since the 2011 campaign.
Princeton 4, Harvard 1 - Box Score
Princeton won its fourth straight home contest despite only having two hits. Junior Zack Belski's home run in the first inning proved to be the difference. Senior Cameron Mingo threw his second straight complete game, giving up just one earned run and striking out seven.
It did not take the Tigers long to take advantage of the high winds that swirled through Clarke Field. In the first frame, senior Billy Arendt walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch two batters later. After the wild pitch junior Nick Hernandez, with two out, lined a base hit to right field to score the senior. Belski followed with his fourth career home run on a long fly ball that landed well over the center field fence to put the Tigers ahead, 3-0.
Mingo ran into some trouble in the second inning. Back-to-back errors and a sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position with one out. The senior picked a perfect time for his first strikeout, punching out Josh Ellis. Following a hit-by-pitch to load the bases, Mingo got a fielders' choice to end the threat.
In the third frame, the Crimson put a runner in scoring position with two out, but the senior picked up his third strikeout of the contest to put away the visitors. In Princeton's half of the inning, senior Danny Hoy had a lead-off walk and then stole second. Hernandez advanced the senior to third on a ground out and then an error would give the Tigers its fourth run of the contest.
Mingo made the Crimson strand runners in scoring positon in the fourth and fifth innings. The Princeton starter lost his shutout bid on a Jeff Skinner home run in the seventh, but finished off the Crimson to nab the victory.
Princeton 14, Harvard 5 - Box Score
Eight of Princeton's starters had a hit in game two. A three-hit contest for Hernandez helped the junior to a career-best five RBI. Senior Andrew Christie's line drive grand slam in the sixth inning was his first career home run. Hoy went 2-for-2 with three runs scored in the win.
Princeton recorded the first tally in the second as junior Paul Tupper lofted a triple to the left center gap that let freshman Joseph Flynn to touch home.
Harvard took its first lead of the day on a RBI single by Ellis and run-scoring double by Matt Rothenberg in the top half of the third inning. With one out in the home portion of the third, Arendt singled and got to third base on a double down the left line from Hoy. Hernandez lifted a base hit to left field that scored the two seniors to give the Tigers a 3-2 advantage.
Princeton added four more runs in the fourth inning to jump in front, 7-2. Succeeding a bases loaded walk by Hoy, Hernandez hit a ball that was misjudged by the left fielder that cleared the bases.
Junior Keelan Smithers finished his outing on the mound by retiring 10 of his last 11 hitters. In the game, Smithers went six innings, posting three strikeouts. For the year, he's allowed two earned runs in 15 innings.
The Tigers put the game away with a huge seven-run sixth inning. Highlighted in the big frame was Christie's grand slam. Horsted and Flynn had run-producing hits while Belski netted a sacrifice fly.
Harvard scored three unearned runs in the eighth inning to wrap up the scoring while freshman Ryan Smith closed the door on the Crimson in the ninth.
In-state rival Monmouth will come to Clarke Field on Wednesday before Princeton travels to Yale (Apr. 9) and Brown (Apr. 10) this weekend. First pitch against Monmouth is slated for 3:30 p.m.