Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Baseball Battles Yale At Clarke Field For Ivy League Championship
May 12, 2016 | Baseball
| Princeton vs. Yale |
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| Gametimes | Princeton vs. Yale l Saturday, May 14 - 12:00 p.m l Clarke Field |
| Princeton vs. Yale l Sunday, May 15 - 12:00 p.m l Clarke Field |
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| Princeton vs. Yale l Sunday, May 15 - 3:30 p.m l Clarke Field (If neccesary) |
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| Game Coverage |
Ivy League Digital Network l Live Stats - Game 1 l Live Stats - Game 2 l Live Stats - Game 3 |
| All-Time Series |
Yale leads Princeton, 184-152-2 |
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Princeton (22-18, 13-7 Ivy) - Gehrig Division Winner |
Roster l Schedule l Stats l @PUTigerBaseball |
| Yale (18-26-1, 11-9 Ivy) - Rolfe Division Winner | |
| Media Packet |
Princeton Game Notes |
PRINCETON, N.J. - The Princeton baseball team will welcome the Yale Bulldogs to Clarke Field for the Ivy League Championship Series this weekend. The best-of-three series gets underway on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. Game two will also start at 12 p.m. on Sunday with game three following if necessary.
How They Got Here
The Tigers began Ivy League play in magnificent fashion with two walk-off wins vs. Dartmouth (Apr. 2) at Clarke Field. In the bottom of the seventh inning of game one, freshman Jesper Horsted hit a line-drive double to right center and then came around to score on senior Billy Arendt's two-base hit, giving the Tigers a 2-1 victory.
Trailing 6-0 in game two, Dartmouth rallied with a six-spot in the top of the seventh. Later in the 10th, four straight hits by the Big Green gave them their first lead in either game at 8-6.
Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Princeton to start its half of the 10th. The next hitter, junior Nick Hernandez, slashed a double to center field to tie the Ivy League matchup at 8-all. Junior Zack Belski was intentionally walked to reload the bases with no out for freshman Joseph Flynn, who came through with a clutch walk-off single as he deposited a fly ball to left center field.
The next day (Apr. 3), Princeton scored two straight victories over Harvard to finish the first conference weekend at 4-0. Senior Cameron Mingo threw his second straight complete game in a 4-1 win in the first contest. In a game two triumph, the offense posted 14 runs and 15 hits while junior Keelan Smithers went six innings, scattering five hits to nab his first victory of the season.
Yale ended Princeton's undefeated Ivy League stretch with two conquests (Apr. 8) in West Haven, Conn. Yale starter Scott Politz scattered four hits and didn't walk a batter over a seven-inning complete-game victory for the Bulldogs, who broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run fifth inning to take control of a 6-3 win. During game two, Princeton outhit Yale, 6-5 through a mostly low-scoring contest, but Yale broke open a 2-1 lead with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
On Apr. 10, Princeton's offense broke out in a big way, outscoring Brown, 36-16 in a two-game sweep. The Tigers broke a program record with 36 runs in the doubleheader.
In game one, Princeton, which led 8-1 in the middle of the second inning, added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to take an 11-7 lead into the final three outs. A walk, single and walk loaded the bases with no out, but Danny Thomson followed with a strikeout. Brown's Marc Sredojevic and Tim McKeithan hit run-scoring back-to-back singles to cut the deficit in half and leave the bases loaded. Thomson responded in style as he struck out Rob Henry, and then Noah Shulman was thrown out trying to steal home to finish off the 11-9 win for the Tigers.
Princeton took home a 25-7 decision in game two over Brown. The 25 runs are the most that the team has scored in a game since May 7, 1992 (Monmouth). Belski helped power Princeton in the nightcap with a program record eight RBI, topping a record that has stood for 84 years and had been shared by six players.
Princeton took three out of four from Penn at Clarke Field (Apr. 16-17) the following week. In the first game vs. Penn, Arendt was perfect at the plate, registering three hits including a three-run home run. Following a 7-2 win, the Tigers posted a 3-1 victory in game two. Arendt continued his hot streak as he was not retired in four plate appearances. In fact, the senior third baseman got on base every time he came to the plate in the two games.
The Tigers picked up the series win over the Quakers with a 5-1 victory in game three. Horsted and Arendt had two hits each to pace the Tigers' offense. Smithers pitched six innings, scattering six hits and giving up just one earned run. The Quakers salvaged a 5-2 win in game four.
Columbia took three out of four against Princeton in New York (Apr. 23-24). Powers threw a three-hitter in the Tigers' only win over the three-time defending Ivy League champion.
Robert H.B. Baldwin '42 Head Coach of Baseball Scott Bradley's team won the Gehrig Division title with two wins over Cornell, 4-3 and 6-1 (Apr. 29). After the Big Red tied the first game in the seventh frame, a junior Nick Hernandez RBI single gave the Tigers a 4-3 victory.
During the second matchup at Cornell, Powers retired the first 19 hitters he faced before a single by Dale Wickham ended his perfect game with one out in the seventh inning. Wickham swiped second base and then finished Powers' shutout bid as he circled the bases on a single from Cole Rutherford. The Princeton starter finished his outing with a clean frame in the eighth.
On the final day of the regular season, the Tigers clinched home field advantage in the Ivy League Championship Series with a split vs. the Big Red at Clarke Field (Apr. 30). Princeton lost game one, 4-3, but won game two, 7-2.
Ivy League Championship History
- Princeton has won seven outright Ivy League titles in its history (1996, 2000-01, 2003-04, 2006, 2011). The Tigers also split the Ivy League title in 1985 with Harvard.
- The Tigers won nine consecutive Gehrig Division titles (1996-2004), going 5-4 in the championship series. Overall, Princeton has taken home 13 Gehrig Division crowns.
- Princeton and Yale has never faced off in the Ivy League Championship Series.
On A Roll
- Over the last eight games, the Tigers have hit .281 as a team with four players hitting over .300.
- Freshman Jesper Horsted's .364 average paced the offense along 12 total bases, six runs and five RBI.
- Senior Danny Hoy was right behind him with a .355 average, 19 total bases, eight RBI eight runs and six extra-base hits. Hoy is currently on a 14-game on-base streak.
- The pitching staff boasts a 3.90 ERA over the last eight games.
- In his last two starts, junior Chad Powers has allowed one run in 17 innings.
- Junior Keelan Smithers has struck out 10 hitters in 13 1/3 innings with a 2.03 ERA in his last two outings.
On The Hill
- The Tigers have the lowest ERA (3.84) in the Ivy League and are one of just two teams with an ERA under 4.00.
- Junior Chad Powers leads the Ivy League in ERA (2.01). He is also tied for second in the conference in shutouts (one), wins (five) and is third in innings pitched (62 2/3).
- If Powers were to finish with the lowest ERA in the Ivy League, he'd become just the second Princeton player to achieve the accolade since 2003.
- Junior Keelan Smithers has accumulated a 4-1 record with a 2.52 ERA. He has struck out 21 hitters in 39 1/3 innings.
- Senior Cameron Mingo is tied for second in the Ivy League in wins (five), securing a 4.32 ERA in nine starts.
- Junior Chris Giglio leads the team in appearances with 16. He is 2-1 on the season with a 4.32 ERA.
- Senior Danny Thomson has a team-leading two saves.
Batting Around
- Freshman Jesper Horsted's .345 batting average ranks fourth in the conference while senior Danny Hoy places ninth (.325).
- Horsted has a .345/.392/.422 slash line and is sixth in the Ivy League in triples (two).
- Senior Danny Hoy leads the Ivy League in runs (38), is fourth in total bases (74), fifth in hits (49) and home runs (5), seventh in stolen bases (8), ninth in RBI (25) and slugging percentage (.490) and 10th in doubles (10).
- Other players ranking in the Ivy League's top ten are senior Billy Arendt in runs (fifth, 27) and walks (second, 26) and junior Nick Hernandez in hits (seventh, 46), RBI (second, 32) and stolen bases (seventh, eight).
Scouting Yale
- The Yale Bulldogs are 18-26-1 overall and 11-9 in Ivy League play. Yale won a one-game playoff against Dartmouth last Saturday, 5-4, to win the Rolfe Division.
- The Bulldogs has secured victories against Holy Cross, Quinnipiac, Bucknell, Columbia, Fairfield, Princeton, Cornell, Harvard, Wesleyan (Conn.), Dartmouth and Brown.
- Yale took on No. 3 Texas A.M. to begin the season and was swept in three games. Yale alum and former President of the United States, George H.W. Bush attended one of the matchups.
- Nate Adams leads the Bulldogs in batting average at .331. He supports a .331/.389/.424 slash line.