Author:
Bengal
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Date Posted: 16:56:59 04/29/24 Mon
I understand the Ivies get one bid to the NCAAs. To me, Columbia already earned it. But since the League requires Columbia to play off with three other teams, a separate issue and pet peeve of mine, the rest of the field is not yet set.
Princeton sits in second place at 11-7. Given that: our top pitcher from last year, Chmielewski, a first Team All-Ivy, hasn't played all season; our second best pitcher from last year hasn't played in over 3 weeks; in League play we are the worst fielding team; sixth in batting at .255 (hitting has picked up in the last handful of games, but we do lead the League in SO)); and middle of the pack in pitching, this is a pretty good showing...so far.
It would be quite a feat to hang on to second place. Our last three games are against Columbia. They lead the League in hitting at a .329 League clip, with 40 HRs in 18 games, and in almost every offensive category. I understand injuries affect every team and Columbia has a pitcher who hasn't played in the League. But, Columbia's roster totals 38 vs. P's 29. The thinness of the P staff was evident to me in the DC series this past weekend. In the third game, with P cruising with a 6 or 7 run lead, DC pulled within 2 in the 8th while Bradley, a very good coach, left the middle reliever in notwithstanding the obvious trouble he was having getting out of the inning. And as an example of how our fielding can be a problem together with staff shortages; our pitcher prolonged one inning by throwing away a ball hit to him. And in DC's 4 run 8th, with our pitcher struggling, our 2B bobbled an inning ending DP ball allowing two more runs to score in the inning. It went as a FC, not an error, but it was a blown DP.
Cornell is at 10-8, a game back of P, Penn and Yale at 9-9, H at 8-10. We have the tiebreaker over Penn, but not over Y and H. David Perry, where are you when we need you?
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