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Princeton To Make 12th Appearance In NCAA Tournament Friday
June 02, 2016 | Baseball
| Princeton at No. 17 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns | |
| Gametimes | Princeton at No. 17 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns l Friday, June 3 - 8 p.m l M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field |
| Lafayette Regional | Tournament Central l ESPN3 |
| All-Time Series | These two teams have never met. |
|
Princeton (24-19) - Ivy League Champion |
Roster l Schedule l Stats l @PUTigerBaseball |
| No. 17 Louisiana (41-19) - Sun Belt Champion |
Roster l Schedule l Stats l @CajunsBaseball |
| Media Packet | |
PRINCETON, N.J. - Princeton is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers will battle the No. 17 nationally ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns at the M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field on Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN 3.
Welcome to the Show
- Princeton is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers will battle the No. 17 nationally ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns at the M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field on Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN 3.
- The last time that Princeton made the NCAA Tournament was in 2011. It was placed in the Texas Regional, losing twice.
- The Tigers have won three games all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Princeton defeated No. 8 Virginia, 4-2 in 2004, took down The Citadel, 11-6 in 2001 and dropped Rider, 4-3 in 1965.
- Since the Regional format began in 1975, the Tigers have never advanced to the Super Regionals weekend.
- Princeton has been to one College World Series in 1951, losing to Southern California and Tennessee.
In the Rankings
- The Tigers are 45th in the country in double plays per game (0.93). The team places in the top 100 nationally in hits per allowed nine innings (8.52, 64th), ERA (3.82, 66th) and WHIP (1.35, 68th).
2016 Season Review
- The Tigers currently stand at 24-19 overall and 13-7 in the Ivy League. Princeton was great at Clarke Field, winning 10 of their 14 games at home.
- Princeton began the year by getting swept by No. 4 Louisville in three-game series.
- The team picked up its first win of the year with a 6-2 victory against Penn State (Mar. 12).
- Trailing 3-0 to Georgetown (Mar. 18) in the ninth, junior Paul Tupper hit a game-tying home run with two out. The Tigers put up a four-spot in the 10th to win 7-3.
- The Tigers began Ivy League play at Clarke Field in dramatic fashion, nodding two walk-off victories vs. Dartmouth (Apr. 2).
- Yale handed Princeton its first two conference losses (Apr. 8) before the Tigers rebounded with two straight wins over Brown (Apr. 10).
- Princeton outscored Brown 36-16 in the two-game sweep, breaking a program record for runs in a doubleheader. The team's 25 runs in game two were the most since 1992.
- Against rival Penn, Princeton won three of four at home (Apr. 16-17).
- After losing three out of four to Columbia, the Tigers won twice at Cornell (Apr. 29) and clinched the Ivy League's Gehrig Division. A split against Cornell the next day (Apr. 30) clinched home field advantage in the Ivy League Championship Series.
- The Tigers became just the fifth team in conference history to win the Ivy League Championship Series after losing game one (May 14-15).
Ivy League Notes
- The Tigers had seven players named to the All-Ivy teams while Robert H.B. Baldwin '42 Head Coach of Baseball Scott Bradley was named the unanimous Ivy League Coach of the Year.
- Junior Chad Powers was selected as the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year and was the only unanimous first team All-Ivy selection.
- 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).
- Hoy scored his second straight first team All-Ivy League accolade. He 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).
- Arendt was also named first team All-Ivy. He 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).
- 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).
- 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.
- 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 ninth 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.
Ivy Player of the Week
- Princeton had six players claim Ivy POTW awards this year.
- Junior Chad Powers was the first Tiger to pick up an accolade as he was named Ivy League Co-Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 22.
- The starting pitcher threw six innings, scattered nine hits and allowed just three earned runs as the Tigers defeated Richmond, 5-3 to clinch the Spider Invitational Championship on Mar. 14.
- On Mar. 20, Powers recorded his second career complete game shutout as Princeton took three of four over Georgetown. Powers allowed seven hits and struck out one hitter over nine innings. 18 of his 27 outs were ground balls and the Tigers turned four double plays.
- Freshmen Jesper Horsted and Joseph Flynn split Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors on Apr. 5.
- The two freshmen became the first Tigers to win the Rookie of the Week accolade since junior Paul Tupper did so on Mar. 18, 2014.
- From the leadoff spot, Horsted went 2-5 against the Seton Hall Pirates on Mar. 30 as the Tigers rallied for a 7-4 victory. In Princeton's 4-0 Ivy League weekend vs. Dartmouth and Harvard, the freshman went 6-for-13 with four runs, four walks and two doubles.
- In the team's 2-1 win over Dartmouth on Apr. 2, Horsted threw a runner out at the plate and eventually scored the winning run. For the week, Horsted posted a slash line of .444/.545/.611.
- In the Tigers' victory over Seton Hall, Flynn went 2-for-4 with a RBI and run. The freshmen doubled home Princeton's first run in game one vs. Dartmouth on Apr. 2. Flynn's third hit of the contest in game two vs. the Big Green was the walk-off game-winner. The freshmen scored twice in the Tigers' 14-5 win over Harvard on Apr. 3. Flynn hit .421 with five RBI, four runs scored while slugging .632 in the team's five games last week.
- Junior Zack Belski picked up his first career weekly conference award on Apr. 12 after a record-breaking performance.
- The starting first baseman hit .400 over the team's previous five contests. He had eight hits including four for extra bases along with 14 total bases and 12 RBI. The junior raised his batting average 40 points.
- Belski's breakout began in Princeton's doubleheader vs. Brown on Apr. 10. In the Tigers' 11-9 victory in game one, his three-run double in the second inning push the team's lead to 8-1. He finished with four RBI as the Tigers hung on to take the contest.
- The Tigers continued their offensive firepower with a 25-7 win in game two. Belski helped power Princeton in the nightcap with a Princeton-record eight RBIs, topping a record that has stood for 84 years and been shared by six Princeton players.
- The Missouri City, Texas native went 5-of-7 with three runs scored. His five hits are tied for the second most in game in program history. He had two doubles, a home run and finished with 10 total bases.
- On Apr. 19, senior Billy Arendt scored Ivy League Co-Player of the Week while Powers nabbed his Pitcher of the Week award of the season.
- Arendt had an outstanding weekend against Penn as he posted a .700/.733/1.300 slash line.
- The third baseman blasted a three-run home run for the Tigers in their 7-2 win in game one against Penn. He also reached base all four times in the team's 3-1 victory in game two. He went 10 consecutive plate appearances with getting on base with the streak ending with a sacrifice fly in game three.
- Powers was stellar in game two vs the Quakers. The junior went eight innings, scattered just six hits and striking out six hitters in the Tigers' 3-1 win.
- From the third through sixth innings, Powers sent down nine of the 11 batters he faced. In the seventh, the Quakers secured their first extra base hit of the contest with a double, but a fly out put them away. The starter then ended his outing with a 1-2-3 frame in the eighth.
- Just two weeks later, Powers secured his third weekly honor on Apr. 19 after a stellar outing against Cornell.
- The starter went eight strong innings vs. Cornell on Apr. 15, giving up just two hits to register his fifth win of the season.
- 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. After losing his shutout bid in the seventh, the Tiger wrapped up his performance with a 1-2-3 frame in the eighth.
Here's a list of Princeton Ivy League Player of the Week winners for the 2016 season.
Mar. 22 - Chad Powers (Co-Pitcher of the Week)
Apr. 5 - Jesper Horsted, Joseph Flynn (Co-Rookies of the Week)
Apr.12 - Zack Belski (Co-Player of the Week)
Apr. 19 - Billy Arendt (Co-Player of the Week), Chad Powers (Pitcher of the Week)
May 4 - Chad Powers (Pitcher of the Week)
Series History
- Princeton has never played Louisiana or Sam Houston State.
- Arizona took the only matchup against Princeton, 13-10 in 1992.
Scouting No. 17 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
- The Ragin' Cajuns are 41-19 on the season and recently became the first program in Sun Belt Conference history to win three straight conference tournaments.
- Louisiana has won 10 straight games and is looking to advance to its third consecutive Super Regional.
- The nationally ranked squad has a lights out pitching staff that places in the top 50 in Division I in strikeout to walk ratio (3.40, third), WHIP (1.13, fourth), hits per nine (7.58, sixth), walks per nine innings (2.54, eighth), strikeouts per nine innings (8.6, 22nd), ERA (3.21, 23rd) and shutouts (six, 26th).
- The 17th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team had four players receive honors on the 2016 All-Sun Belt Conference teams. Nick Lee was named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year while Gunner Leger, Dylan Moore and Kyle Clement were each named to the All-Sun Belt First Team.
Scouting Arizona Wildcats
- This is Arizona's first time in the NCAA appearance since winning the 2012 National Championship. The Wildcats are 38-20 in 2016 and have a RPI of 21.
- The Wildcats' offense has been lights out in 2016 with ranks in the top 100 nationally in walks (271, 23rd), hits (568, 59th), on-base percentage (.385, 53rd), stolen bases (73, 57th), batting average (.292, 61st), runs (360, 67th) and scoring (6.2, 76th).
- The pitchers for Arizona have also been outstanding this year. The team sits among the best in the country in WHIP (1.20, 12th), hits allowed per nine innings (7.94, 23rd), ERA (3.43, 31st), shutouts (five, 41st), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.33, 49th).
- Nathan Bannister finished the regular season 9-2 with a 2.72 ERA, winning six of his last eight starts.
- Seniors Zach Gibbons, Cody Ramer and Ryan Aguilar paced the Cats all season. Gibbons finished second in the Pac-12 with a .385 batting average. Ramer led the conference with eight triples and finished second in hits with 83, one behind Gibbons. Aguilar finished with 18 doubles, tied for the second most in the league.
Scouting Sam Houston State Bearkats
- The Sam Houston State Bearkats are 41-20 overall and took home the Southland Conference's automatic bid. The Bearkats have made the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five seasons.
- The Bearkats' offense has been a staple of their succes as it ranks inside the top 100 nationally in hits (600, 32nd), triples (19, 38th), stolen bases (78, 42nd), doubles, (109, 59th), runs (366, 60th), batting average (.291, 63rd), and scoring (6.0, 91st).
- Sam Houston State's pitching staff boasts national ranks among top 50 in WHIP (1.29, 39th), hits allowed per nine innings (8.34, 44th) and shutouts (5, 41st).
Tuesday, June 04
Monday, May 20
Friday, June 02
Wednesday, June 22