Princeton forced a third game in the best-of-three series and defeated Yale to win the Ivy League title.
PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton baseball team won the Ivy League Championship Series on a walk-off wild pitch in Game 3 to move on to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers won Game 2 earlier, 6-2, before winning 2-1 in Game 3.
The Tigers won their eighth outright Ivy League title and became just the fifth conference foe to win the Ivy League Championship Series after losing game one. The 2016 NCAA Selection Show will be Monday, May 30th on ESPNU at noon.
Game 1 – Princeton 6, Yale 2
Princeton loaded the bases in the second behind two hits and a walk for sophomore Asher Lee-Tyson. The sophomore continued his outstanding series by ripping a base hit up the middle that tallied two runs for the Tigers. A balk gave Princeton its their third run before senior Billy Arendt laced a knock to center that scored freshman Jesper Horsted.
Freshman Max West recorded his first career RBI with a run-producing single in the third inning to make the score 5-0. Princeton posted its sixth run on a sacrifice fly by senior Danny Hoy in the fourth frame.
Junior Chad Powers cruised early as he retired seven of the first eight hitters he faced. Yale’s Tom O’Neill provided the first hit for the Bulldogs with a home run to left in the third. The junior starting pitcher for Princeton got back on track by retiring the next 10 hitters after the home run.
Yale put together a string of hits in the sixth to get its second tally. Simon Whitehead doubled to center with two out and then scored on a RBI single from Richard Slenker. After a walk and error loaded the bases, Powers got a ground out to end the inning.
In the seventh, the Princeton starter gave up a lead-off double, but concluded the frame with two ground outs and a strikeout. Junior Chris Giglio allowed two hits over in the eighth and ninth, but Yale couldn’t put together a threat, forcing a game three.
Game 2 – Princeton 2, Yale 1
Slenker’s double to right field gave Yale a 1-0 lead three batters into the decisive third game of the Ivy League Championship Series. Mingo bounced back by striking out four Yale hitters and scattered four hits from the third through sixth innings.
The Tigers had a runner reach second base in the third, but Yale’s starting pitcher Eric Brodkowitz threw a 4-6-3 double play ball to escape the jam.
Another scoring opportunity arose when the Bulldogs’ Nate Adams tripled to center field with two out in the seventh, but Mingo got a lineout to conclude the frame. In the bottom of the seventh, junior Danny Baer smashed a base hit up the middle. The next hitter, junior Zack Belski belted a long fly ball into the left center field gap, but Yale’s Tim Degraw ran it down. A fielding error would keep the Princeton half alive, but a fly out completed the inning.
After reaching base on a fielder’s choice, Horsted swiped second to give Princeton a runner in scoring opportunity with two out, but a lineout would move the game to the ninth.
Princeton’s winning rally in the ninth started with a hit by Hoy. Baer followed with a walk and then Belski was hit-by-a-pitch to load the bases with no out. Freshman Joseph Flynn was also hit-by-a-pitch which tied the contest at 1-all. Yale would make a pitching change, bringing in Drew Scott. Scott got a strikeout, but then threw a wild pitch that scored Baer and sent Princeton to the NCAA tournament.
