All year the baseball team has been fighting to reach the Ivy League Championship Series and gain revenge on Harvard, which has captured the title three straight years. Now it looks as if Princeton may not get the chance.
The Tigers need one victory this weekend against Cornell to clinch their fifth straight Lou Gehrig Division title. Should they fail to get the job done today in Ithaca, N.Y., Princeton will have another chance at home Sunday.
Harvard, however, needs a miracle to catch Dartmouth, the leader of the Red Rolfe Division.
Princeton has been red-hot of late, winning 12 of its last 13 Ivy League games and taking a four-game lead over second-place Cornell.
The Tigers (20-14 overall, 12-4 Ivy League) seem to be peaking at just the right time. At the beginning of the season, head coach Scott Bradley's major concern was offensive production. And after a slow start to the season, the Princeton bats have been on fire.
Right bounces
The Tigers' team batting average of .306 is higher than it has been at any point during the season. Junior right fielder Max Krance is leading the Ivy League batting race with a .396 average. Junior first baseman Andrew Hanson is not far behind at .368.
Not only has it been consistent, but the team has also been getting critical hits late in games. Junior left fielder Jon Watterson's double in the bottom of the ninth inning against Penn propelled the Tigers to a 6-5 victory and put them in position to bring the Ivy League Championship Series to Clarke Field for the first time since 1996.
Princeton's four starting pitchers have also done their jobs. While sophomore Chris Young's 0.67 ERA may get the most attention, the Tigers' other three weekend starters — sophomore Tom Rowland, freshman Ryan Quillian and senior Jason Quintana — have all shown the ability to dominate games.
Even if Princeton is able to get a win and the division title this weekend, it still may not be able to get revenge on the team that has defeated the Tigers three straight times in the Ivy League Championship Series.
Harvard fell to Yale, 4-2, on Wednesday, extending its losing streak to five games and putting its chances of qualifying for the Ivy League postseason in serious jeopardy. The Crimson (15-20, 8-6) will have to win its final six games, two against Brown and four against division-leading Dartmouth, to force a one-game playoff for the Rolfe Division title.
Harvard has history on its side — the Crimson are 14-2 in the last four seasons against Dartmouth. Harvard, however, has not swept any four-game Ivy League series this year, and the Big Green has never been this good.
Dominating
Dartmouth broke a team record by winning its 25th game of the season Wednesday, upping its record to 25-11 — 14-2 in Ivy play. The team has gone 18-3 since its Spring Break road trip.
During that trip — on March 24, to be exact — Dartmouth showed it was going to be a force in league play. The Big Green defeated the defending national champion Miami Hurricanes, 6-5.
Pitching has been the strength of the Dartmouth team. Before Princeton sophomore Chris Young was named Pitcher of the Week last week, the award had belonged to Dartmouth pitchers Conor Brooks and Jim Kelly. Brooks has won the award three times.
On Easter Sunday, the senior right hander Brooks struck out a baker's dozen for the second time this season in a win against Yale. As of April 16, Brooks was 12th in the country with a 1.81 ERA.
The Big Green's offensive production has garnered awards as well. Third baseman Brian Nickerson was the Ivy League Player of the Week last week and Mike Mileusnic was named Rookie of the Week. Nickerson leads the team in batting with a .388 average, .653 slugging percentage, a .455 on-base percentage and eight home runs.
Mileusnic is now batting .358. During the week, Mileusnic had multiple hits in four out of six games.
"I think that with the spring schedule we played, and the spring schedule that Dartmouth played, I think that it shows that our league is a lot better than people give us credit for, and the quality of baseball is very good," Bradley said.
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