SPECIAL DELIVERY: Princeton University pitcher Justin Kim delivers a pitch in a game earlier this season. Last weekend, senior Kim starred as Princeton went 2-1 in a series with Penn. Kim closed out Princeton’s 8-6 win over the Quakers on Friday and then came back to start the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader as the Tigers picked up a 7-4 win. Princeton, now 12-22 overall and 6-9 Ivy League, hosts Wagner on April 22 and then resumes Ivy action by heading to Dartmouth for a doubleheader on April 25 and a single game on April 26. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Justin Feil
The Princeton University baseball team is trying to make a comeback for the ages.
Having Justin Kim, who has produced a comeback of his own from losing the end of his sophomore season to injury, certainly helps. The senior right-handed pitcher closed out Princeton’s 8-6 win over Penn on Friday, then came back to start the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader as the Tigers picked up a 7-4 win to take the series and remain in the hunt to finish in the top four in the Ivy League standings and earn a berth in the league’s postseason tournament.
“We’ve just been able to stick together, really pull out on top of these last couple series,” said Kim. “And we just know we’ve got the potential. It’s just about believing we can do it.”
Will Robbins hit a pair of two-run homers in the 8-6 win. After a 12-0 loss to Penn in the first game Saturday, it was a back and forth nail-biter in the second game. Penn built a 3-1 lead before Princeton put together a six-run fourth inning to take control. Tomas Cernius had the big blow, a three-run home run after the Tigers had taken a one-run lead. Cernius is part of the freshman class that has jumped right into the mix.
“We knew from day one that this freshman class was very good and they’ve just gotten better,” said Princeton head coach Scott Bradley. “They’re not afraid of anything. They’re talented and are just all doing it extremely well.”
As the newcomers have gained experience, they have helped make Princeton more competitive. The Tigers have been in playoff mode after two challenging Ivy weekends in which they were swept by Brown and Yale. Princeton was in almost every one of those games, which made it even more difficult to stomach.
“We ended up at one point, counting Cornell, we lost seven straight league games and five of them were tied or we had a lead through seven,” said Bradley. “So it was just we couldn’t quite get the big hit. We had a couple breaks go against us.”
Those were real growing pains for a Princeton team that is incredibly young. The Tigers start three or four freshmen most games and three sophomores. Jake Koonin is the lone senior position player. But the best thing about freshmen is that they grow up, and the Tigers have been more patient at the plate, cut down on strikeouts, and the offense has come around while the pitching has picked up.
“These last couple of series have been great for us,” said Kim. “I think we’ve done a really good job of sticking together as a team. Obviously, getting swept by Brown and getting swept by Yale was pretty detrimental for us. And we were pretty down. But what’s been the game changer for us is that we know we’ve got a really talented team. And we just hadn’t been playing up to our potential, especially with Brown and Yale, so it was just about sticking to our routines and trusting the process and mainly trusting each other. For us as the pitchers, relying on our hitters, knowing that they’re going to do their job, doing our best to hold the other team down.”
Princeton went on the road to win two out of three at Columbia to begin its comeback bid for one of four Ivy tournament spots. The Lions were ahead of Princeton in the standings, and so was Penn when they came to Princeton this past weekend and the Tigers took two out of three again to improve to 12-22 overall and 6-9 Ivy.
“We could have easily won five of those seven games that we lost, so we dug ourselves a hole, but the guys are playing hard, they’re competing,” said Bradley. “And we’re just trying to not look too far ahead. And every time we play somebody, we’re trying to win a series.”
After a midweek non-conference game against Wagner on April 22, the Tigers will resume Ivy action by heading to Dartmouth for a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. The Big Green are also 6-9 in the league.
“They’re a fairly talented team,” said Kim. “I don’t think they’re quite as good as Columbia and Penn, who we were able to pull out on top these last couple weeks. So I think it’s just going to be about staying in our stride. We need to continue to put up runs, and as long as our pitching staff can stay healthy and do what we’ve been doing, I think we’ve got a good chance.”
Kim is willing to do whatever he can to help the Tigers reach the Ivy tournament in his last season. Kim is an undersized flamethrower who might not have the pro prospects of some bigger pitchers, but the 6’0, 175-pound Cypress, Texas product has been a huge part of the Tigers’ success. After they were swept in back-to-back series, he suggested to the Princeton coaching staff that they use him to close one game per weekend and then start another game.
“One of the biggest things for me being a senior is that I wanted to make sure I was going to leave it all out there on the field for my team,” said Kim, who already has a job lined up in Houston for after graduation. “Part of that has been me pitching a little bit more than I’m used to. I’ve been having kind of some trouble with smaller injuries this season, too, so it’s kind of been tough for me. But being a senior, I’m willing to kind of risk a slight injury just to help us make the tournament, and to help us do the best we can in my last season. If there’s no future for me in baseball, I want to make sure I’m leaving it all out there for my team.”
Kim has showed his mettle in big spots. He struggled out of the bullpen Friday as Penn rallied against him, but struck out a pair of batters with the bases loaded to end the game.
“He’s proven it over the course of his career, he just has a big, huge competitive heart,” said Bradley.
“He just thinks differently. He’s pitched in a lot of different roles for us.”
His freshman year was impressive with a 7-2 mark and 22 appearances out of the bullpen. He made the Ivy All-Tournament team to close his first year. He became a starter as a sophomore and was contributing until a serious injury ended his season. He returned strong last year and led the Tigers in saves on a staff that wasn’t as deep as this year’s. His experience is a plus and he’s been trying to use it through this season.
“A big thing for me is understanding the situation, and this is something I think I’ve been a little bit better at this year,” said Kim, who is currently 3-4 with a 4.47 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings. “Going in as a starter, the team’s kind of looking for some longevity out of a starter. So it’s more about attacking hitters, staying through the strike zone, letting them get themselves out. And then there are other situations where maybe it’s like runners on first and second, one out, runner on second, no outs, or you come in as a closer and we have a one-run lead. So in that situation, it’s kind of more about maybe not just going right through the zone. It’s more about trying to kind of be a little bit more cute with the batter, maybe go for a strikeout if you can, or weak contact. So for me, this season, it’s just been about kind of understanding the situation and what the team needs in that situation.”
What the Tigers need now more than anything is wins, and they’ll need some help from the Ivy front-runners to defeat the teams around them in the standings so they improve their spot. Following the series at Dartmouth, the only Ivy series left is against Harvard, a team that also has six wins in conference at the moment, just as does Columbia. The next two weekends will provide some separation and the chance to play for an Ivy championship.
“Not only for me, but the whole team, we feel like we’re kind of riding a wave right now,” said Kim. “We know we have that talent. So for us to beat two really good teams in Columbia and Penn, it kind of feels like we’re on a roll now. We’re hoping to take that through the rest of the season and get in this tournament. We know that if we get in the tournament, we’ve got a really good chance to win, given our talent and the depth of our pitching staff.”