The Tigers lost 8-3 to the Magic in the Section 5-3A elimination bracket quarterfinal on Saturday, June 1
Two magical innings by Monticello were enough to end the Princeton Tigers’ 2024 baseball season. The Magic (17-8) defeated the Tigers (15-8) 8-3 on Saturday, June 1, in the Section 5-3A elimination bracket semifinal at the Monticello High School baseball field.
Tigers head coach Brian Julson said Princeton didn’t play well on Saturday.
“In playoff baseball, we can’t give extra outs,” Julson said. “We did that in some crucial situations. Our pitchers were working from behind rather than in front. Monticello’s a good hitting team.”
Neither team scored in the first three innings. In the fourth inning, the Magic took a 1-0 lead on a solo home run by senior catcher Caden King that went just to the right of the left field foul pole. Monticello senior center fielder Tyson Visness made it 2-0 when he singled in a run off of Princeton senior pitcher Will Peterson. The Magic scored two more runs and had a 4-0 cushion heading into the bottom of the fourth.
Princeton got on the board when Peterson hit an RBI single to cut Monticello’s lead to 4-1. In the fifth inning, Tigers senior catcher Eli Gibbs crushed a two-run home run to left field to make it a one-run game.
In the top of the seventh with two outs, sophomore pitcher Nolan Peters and the Tigers were one out away from going into the bottom of the seventh with a chance to win the game. However, the Magic started a four-run rally thanks to a pair of two-run singles by senior pinch hitter Colin Lovegren and freshman shortstop Carson Deibele. Monticello senior pitcher Nick Anderson shut down the Tigers’ bats in the bottom of the seventh and ended Princeton’s season.
Julson said the Magic did a great job at creating a two-out rally.
“We’ve got to be able to close the door in those situations,” he said. “They had a couple big innings. We were able to avoid that during the regular season and beat them twice, but today, we didn’t do that. It’s a disappointing way to end the season, but overall, it was a successful one.”
Player of the Game
Anderson threw a complete game, allowing three runs, eight hits and three walks while striking out four Tigers batters.
What’s next
Eight seniors graduate from Princeton’s 2024 roster: Gibbs, Peterson, outfielders Eli Christopher, Bryce Haubenschild and Lukas Olson, pitcher Andrew Schroeder, third baseman Tyler Peters and catcher Niko Bratulich.
Julson said he has a lot of respect for the Tigers’ graduating senior class.
“Every day, they brought their A game,” Julson said. “They worked hard and competed hard. We’ve got some big shoes to fill with our underclassmen, but we have some talented underclassmen that I know are going to go to work for us.”
Key players returning for the Tigers next season include Nolan Peters, pitcher Lane Olson, pitcher-outfielder Cullen Drews and pitcher Dominic Patnode.
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