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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Bradley Named Coach of the Year; Seven Tigers Named All-Ivy
May 19, 2016 | Baseball
PRINCETON, N.J. – A storybook season for the Princeton baseball team continued as the team scored two major Ivy League awards and had seven players named to the All-Ivy teams today.
Junior Chad Powers was selected as the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year and was the only unanimous first team All-Ivy selection. Robert H.B. Baldwin '42 Head Coach of Baseball Scott Bradley was also a unanimous pick for the Ivy League Coach of the Year.
Princeton had five players named to the first team All-Ivy in Powers, junior Zack Belski, seniors Danny Hoy, Billy Arendt and freshman Jesper Horsted. The Tigers' five first team players are the program's most since 2000. Juniors Keelan Smithers and Nick Hernandez were picked for second team All-Ivy.
Powers is the first Princeton Ivy League Pitcher of the Year since Mike Ford in 2013. The junior led the conference in ERA (2.07), was tied for first in wins (six), second in innings pitched (69.2), and tied for second in shutouts (one). He allowed more than two earned runs once in final eight starts. In five outings against Ivy League opponents, Powers posted an ERA of .47. He took a perfect game into the seventh inning at Cornell (Apr. 29) and struck out a career-high eight, scattering four hits in the game two of the Ivy League Championship Series (May 15).
Hoy picked up his second career first team All-Ivy accolade with a stellar 2016 season. The senior finished in the Ivy League's top ten in runs (40), hits (52), doubles (11), home runs (five), RBI (26), total bases (78), stolen bases (eight), batting average (.317) and slugging percentage (.476). After beginning the season with a .235 batting average during the month of March, the second baseman was lights out in April, boasting a .398/.474/.614 slash line. In his 20 conference games, Hoy scored 26 times, smashed 11 extra-base hits and hit .403 while slugging .639 and getting on base at a .482 clip.
After finishing honorable mention All-Ivy last season, Arendt followed that with a first team All-Ivy honor in 2016. The senior finished with a .267 average, .378 on-base percentage and slugged .397. The third baseman played his best during Ivy League play, placing among the conference's top ten in runs (21), home runs (four), total bases (39), walks (17), on-base percentage (.471) and slugging percentage (.574). Arendt started slowly, hitting just .203 in March before batting .310 over the final two months of the season.
Belski snagged his second All-Ivy award (honorable mention, 2014). The first baseman improved in every offensive category from his sophomore season as he set a career high in runs (19), hits (39), home runs (three), RBI (28), total bases (58), walks (19), on-base percentage (.356) and slugging percentage (.401). The junior broke an 84-year old Princeton record when he had eight RBI in the Tigers' 25-7 victory vs. Brown (Apr. 10). Belski's 28 RBI were the fourth highest in the Ivy League. He was also a fabulous fielder, leading the conference in put outs (370) and doubles played turned (36).
Despite playing sparingly to start the year, Horsted was one of the best freshman in the conference. His .326 average was ninth among Ivy foes while his on-base percentage (.374) ranked inside the top 20. The first team All-Ivy player was a major table-setter at the top of the order, hitting .372 in the team's 23 victories. He had 13 multi-hit outings. In April, the outfielder secured a .356 average, scored 16 times and had a team-high 11 game hitting streak. The freshman did not make an error in 60 chances and threw out four runners.
Smithers was outstanding during Ivy League play, going 4-0 with a 2.98 ERA in five starts. Over his three seasons at Princeton, Smithers has gradually improved from a 6.17 ERA as a freshman to 3.46 this year. For the season, the junior gave up two earned runs or less in six outings. His best game of the year was vs. Cornell (Apr. 30) as he took a shutout into eighth inning and struck out a season-high seven. With the win against the Big Red, the Tigers clinched home-field advantage in the Ivy League Championship Series.
Hernandez is another Tiger that set career highs in many offensive categories as he set new marks in runs (21), home runs (three), RBI (32), total bases (64), walks (17), batting average (.290), on-base percentage (.358), slugging percentage (.395) and stolen bases (eight). With his banner 2016 campaign, he was among the top ten in the Ivy League in RBI (second), hits (seventh) and stolen bases (seventh). His power improved during conference action as he slugged .489 with eight extra-base hits. Hernandez was a consistent hitter as his average did not drop below .280 after Mar. 26.
The Tigers were just the fifth team in Ivy League history to win the Ivy League Championship Series after dropping the first game. It was their eight outright Ivy League title. Princeton was the first Division I baseball team to clinch a berth to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show will be on May 30th on ESPNU at 12 p.m.