In their highly-anticipated first series of the season, the Princeton’s baseball team (0–4 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) headed south to face off against the Miami Hurricanes (4–1, 0–0 ACC) over the weekend. In a tough matchup against a power conference opponent, the Tigers struggled to string together hits and get crucial outs. They lost all four games en route to a Miami sweep, with a combined score of 36–5.
“Miami has a terrific pitching staff with a number of pro arms,” Head Coach Scott Bradley told The Daily Princetonian. “Our hitters were just overmatched this early in the season, but we hope to see progress each week.”
As is customary for most northeastern teams, the Tigers’ schedule will take them around the southeast to face off against warm-weather teams over the next month. These games are almost always the hardest stretch of the Tigers’ season, featuring a scattering of power conference opponents that have access to year-round baseball weather and elite homegrown talent. Last year, Princeton started the season with a dismal 4–12 record thanks to their southern road trip. Even a small improvement over that number would be a great sign for a team with its sights set on Ivy League play.
“Any time we can play against teams from the power conferences, we will,” Bradley told the ‘Prince.’ “It’s always a great and memorable experience for our guys.”
Pitching shines, but bats sputter in game one
On Friday night, the Tigers kicked off their season against the Hurricanes. On the mound for Princeton was sophomore pitcher Sean Episcope, who had a promising rookie year despite battling injuries for much of last season. Facing off against Miami’s new-look lineup, Episcope turned in a strong performance but was credited with a loss after allowing two earned runs in five innings of work.
Miami struck first in the bottom of the second inning, with a single off of Episcope setting the table for catcher Tanner Smith. After jumping ahead to an 0–2 count, Episcope hung a breaking ball in the middle of the zone, and Smith wasted no time pouncing. He launched the ball deep into the Miami night, soaring over the left-field wall for a home run and a 2–0 Miami lead.
Though Episcope settled down after, those runs were enough for the Hurricanes to put the game to bed. The Tigers only managed three hits throughout the entire game, failing to put any sort of pressure on the Hurricanes.
Miami sophomore pitcher Nick Robert was stellar on the mound, striking out eight Tigers and conceding the game’s only run before turning the game over to the bullpen. Miami’s relievers locked the game down, and the Tigers started their season with a 3–1 loss.
Junior second baseman Jake Koonin provided a key bright spot for the Tigers in the third inning, with an infield single that set the table for junior catcher Jake Bold to drive in a run. Koonin ended the 2024 season with a 20-game hitting streak, tied for the longest in Princeton history. With his hit in the top of the third, Koonin brought the streak to 21 and broke the Tiger record.
“Jake is a terrific player and has played well for us,” Bradley said of Koonin. “There is some luck involved with hitting streaks, and the fact that it was spread out over two years makes it even more difficult to extend.”
Tigers trounced in doubleheader
After remaining competitive on Opening Day, the wheels fell off for the Tigers on the second day of the series against Miami. In two games played on Saturday, the Tigers lost by scores of 10–3 and 15–1. Princeton held the lead for just two innings across both games, struggling to both hit and pitch.
Bold opened the first game of the doubleheader on a high note, swatting a two-run home run in the top of the first inning to give the Tigers a 2–0 lead. After senior outfielder Jordan Kelly led off the game with a single, the Tigers recorded two outs before Bold stepped up to the plate. With his home run, the Tigers earned their first and only lead of the series.
The pitching staff struggled in the early innings, with senior starter Andrew D’Alessio making it through just two innings before unraveling in the third. Miami sent 11 batters to the plate in the third inning, scoring a whopping seven runs, with four of them coming through a dramatic lead-taking grand slam. By the time the dust had settled, the Tigers were down 7–2. The gap only widened in the sixth, when sophomore pitcher Elliot Eaton gave up three more runs.
Koonin extended his hitting streak one more time, tripling in the top of the ninth to extend the streak to 22. He then scored on a sacrifice fly, bringing the score to 10–3 before Miami recorded another out and the game concluded.
In game two of the doubleheader, things got worse. First-year starting pitcher James Beasley, standing at a whopping six-feet-seven-inches, made his Princeton debut on the mound, giving up seven runs across just under three innings of work. The Tigers needed five more pitchers to get through the next six innings, with only first-year Nick Shenefelt and sophomore Jackson Baldrate escaping without conceding a run. Baldrate is a contributing Opinion writer for the ‘Prince.’
The bats went quiet too, with the Tigers notching only three hits in the game. Koonin was not among the Tigers to record a hit, bringing his streak to an end at 22. This mark now stands as Princeton’s best, giving Koonin a spot in the record books.
“I wasn’t really conscious of the streak until it got to game 16 or 17,” Koonin said of his streak. “It’s a great sign of consistency, and I’m just glad I could write my name in the record books alongside my best friends.”
Bats blanked in game four
Game four was no better for the Tigers, with Miami winning 8–0 in the series finale on Sunday. With first-year pitcher Liam Kinneen getting the start, the coaching staff hoped for some length to rest a Tiger bullpen that had been worked hard in the doubleheader the day before. Instead, Kinneen only went three innings, giving up six runs and putting the Tigers in an early hole.
As he did throughout the 2024 season, senior reliever Jacob Faulkner provided the Tigers with a strong long relief outing, going four innings to give the bullpen some rest. Faulkner gave up two runs, bringing the score to 8–0. With the Tiger bats once again unable to connect, the eight-run lead seemed insurmountable. After recording only one hit in the entire game, the Tigers lost again, allowing Miami to complete the sweep.
“Their pitching was solid, but that is the norm for northern teams traveling south,” Bradley told the ‘Prince.’ “It’s much easier to get arms in shape as opposed to our hitters getting live at-bats.”
The Tigers’ schedule gets even tougher next weekend, with two games each against Maryland and No. 6 Wake Forest in North Carolina. Though the task seems daunting, the Tigers will look for positives as the bats warm up and pitchers round into form.
“We had some bright spots but as a team, we couldn’t find ways to get on,” Koonin said after the series. “We will learn and only get better, and the bats will get rolling before we know it.”
Joe Uglialoro is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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