After a disappointing opening series against Miami (7–1 overall, 0–0 ACC), Princeton baseball (1–7 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) headed back south for a four-game series in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Tigers played two games each against the Maryland Terrapins (6–5, 0–0 Big Ten) and No. 12 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10–3, 0–0 ACC), both power-conference teams with major aspirations for 2025.
Wake Forest was a particular challenge. The team has consistently ranked among the top five in the nation in recent years and had three top-10 MLB Draft selections last year. This year, the team is again projected to be one of the best in the country, picked to finish sixth in a crowded Atlantic Coast Conference poll.
In a unique series format, the Tigers alternated four games between Maryland and Wake Forest, facing Maryland on Friday and Saturday and Wake Forest on Friday and Sunday. The Tigers were swept by the Terps and lost their first against the Demon Deacons, but they rebounded in the final game with a thrilling win in the series finale.
“All in all, this was a much improved weekend,” head coach Scott Bradley told The Daily Princetonian. “We had one bad inning against Maryland, but we competed well against two good teams from power conferences. A win against No. 12 Wake Forest should help our confidence.”
Tigers throttled by Terrapins, 17–1
The weekend series got off to a difficult start, with the opener against Maryland quickly turning to disaster. Junior infielder Jake Koonin, fresh off a record-breaking 22-game hitting streak, opened the scoring in the top of the first with a solo home run to center. From there, the Tigers struggled.
In the bottom of the second inning, first-year starting pitcher James Beasley dealt with trouble on the mound. After cruising through the first inning, Beasley allowed eight consecutive runners to reach base without recording an out. With two home runs and two doubles, Maryland scored eight runs off Beasley before he was pulled. Already, the game was nearly out of reach.
After Beasley, a parade of Tiger relievers were forced to cover the rest of the game. Of the four that took the mound, not a single one escaped without giving up another run. Impressively, the best of the four was senior catcher Kaden Kram, who took the mound as a position player to limit the damage to the Tigers’ staff.
Kram made it through four innings on just 38 pitches and surrendered just one run, but the rest of the Tigers allowed eight more. Maryland won 17–1, and the Tigers had themselves a game to forget.
Episcope shines without run support
After Friday’s blowout, Princeton took on Wake Forest in a doubleheader, with sophomore Sean Episcope delivering another stellar outing. After striking out six over five solid innings against Miami in the season opener, Episcope was even better this time, fanning nine and allowing just one run in five frames.
“Sean Episcope pitched well again,” coach Bradley told the ‘Prince.’ Bradley also noted that there were 25 to 30 major league scouts in attendance watching Episcope pitch, a testament to his elite arm talent.
The Tigers faced a formidable foe on the other end, with reigning ACC Pitcher of the Week Logan Lunceford toeing the rubber opposite Episcope. Though Lunceford’s draft-ready talent seemed insurmountable, Princeton had brief hope when the first two Tigers reached base on a double by Jake Koonin and an RBI single by senior outfielder Caden Shapiro.
After briefly losing the lead, Lunceford and the Wake Forest bullpen only allowed one more hit for the entire game. The Demon Deacons answered back immediately, with a solo homer in the bottom of the first tying the score at one apiece.
The game remained knotted until the bottom of the seventh inning, when junior reliever Justin Kim was undone by an inning-opening error that led to two runs. After the error, a single, two walks, and a sacrifice fly, the Tigers were behind for good. Senior swingman Jacob Faulkner received the loss, though he did not give up any hits or earned runs. All in all, it was a solid performance from the pitching staff, but one that went to waste with no help from the bats.
“What worked well for Sean, Jacob, and Justin was their talent and hard work,” pitching coach Joe Haumacher told the ‘Prince.’ “They’re all very talented and have hit a new level of maturity and work this offseason, and prepared in a way that has brought the best out of themselves.”
Bats wake up but early Maryland offense proves too much
Saturday started promisingly, with Princeton grabbing a 1–0 lead in the first on an RBI single from junior catcher Jake Bold. However, Maryland responded swiftly, tagging senior pitcher Andrew D’Alessio for six runs over four innings.
First-year Nick Shenefelt kept the Tigers in the game with two scoreless frames, and the bats finally showed life in the eighth. A three-run surge — highlighted by a homer from sophomore infielder Tommy Googins and RBI singles from Shapiro and sophomore Dylan Zdunek, playing designated hitter — cut the deficit to 10–7. But Maryland’s closer Andrew Johnson shut the door, striking out Kaden Kram and first-year infielder Grant Werdesheim with two on to end the game.
Tigers get first win behind seven-run fourth
After struggling with opponents’ big innings all season, Princeton flipped the script on Sunday.
First-year Liam Kinneen kept Wake Forest in check with 5.2 innings of three-run ball, while the Tigers erupted for seven runs in the fourth. Werdesheim, Googins, Shapiro, and Bold all drove in runs as Princeton turned a 1–0 deficit into a commanding 7–1 lead.
“There’s a reason we harp on limiting the ‘big inning’ as a pitching staff, and this is the perfect example for why,” Faulkner wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “I felt like that was the moment the game truly became ours.”
While Princeton only had six hits on the day, five were in that pivotal frame. After three games in two days, length from Kinneen meant Bradley only needed to use his starter and a rested Jacob Faulkner, who took the ball from the end of the sixth inning to the final strike.
“Kinneen was terrific and looks like he will be a terrific pitcher for us!” Bradley wrote to the ‘Prince.’
Heading into the bottom of the ninth, Princeton held a comfortable 7–4 lead. Faulkner delivered the first two outs, but then a hit-by-pitch, walk, single, and double brought the score to 7–6 with Demon Deacons on second and third and two outs.
Faulkner had Wake Forest down to their last strike prior, but it was only after the tension ramped up that he delivered. He struck out designated hitter Chris Katz to clinch Princeton’s first win of the season.
“It felt great,” Faulkner wrote. “The last out is the hardest to get, so battling every at-bat to secure the save is very exciting.”
With momentum finally on their side, the Tigers head into practice before a weekend showdown at VCU.
“The momentum and confidence an offensive explosion creates certainly carries through the game and into the next week, so I think practice is going to be pretty fun as excitement builds for our games over spring break,” Faulkner concluded.
Max Hines is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Joe Uglialoro is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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