Princeton baseball extends winning streak to four

The Tigers have won seven consecutive home games

The Princeton Tigers remain undefeated at home in 2024 after a pair of wins over St. Francis and North Branch at Solheim Field in Princeton on Thursday, May 2, and Friday, May 3, respectively.

Princeton (10-1, 7-1) demolished North Branch (4-9, 4-4) 17-1 in five innings on Friday. The Tigers scored 14 runs in the fourth inning against the Vikings and avenged their only loss of the season, which came against the Vikings on Tuesday, April 23. Five players recorded multi-RBI games. Seniors Lane Olson and Eli Gibbs each had three RBIs, while senior Niko Bratulich, sophomore Nolan Peters and senior Tyler Peters each had two. Olson earned the win. He threw four innings and allowed one run, one hit and two walks while striking out two Vikings.

Princeton comes from behind to beat St. Francis 3-2

The sky over Solheim Field brought down a drizzle of rain onto the field as the Tigers battled the Saints on Thursday. It didn’t stop Princeton from completing a thrilling comeback against St. Francis (7-4, 4-4). Neither team scored in the first three innings of the game, but St. Francis scored in the top of the fourth to make it 1-0. In the top of the sixth, the Saints extended their lead to 2-0 when junior third baseman Cooper Fiskewold blasted a solo home run over the left field wall off of Tigers senior pitcher Will Peterson.

Down by two with only six outs to play heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers didn’t lose hope. Nolan Peters hit an RBI single, which allowed Gibbs to score. Princeton tied the game when Nolan Peters scored on a fielding error.

After Peterson shut down the Saints in the top of the seventh, the Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with nobody out. St. Francis senior pitcher Braydon Wilson-Gross threw a wild pitch that went by senior catcher Owen Fiskewold. Olson took off from third base and scored the winning run. He then slammed his helmet to the ground as the Tigers celebrated an impressive win to keep their perfect home record alive for another game.

What’s next

The Tigers host Totino-Grace (5-7, 3-7) on Thursday, May 9, at 4:30 p.m. at Solheim Field. Princeton has won seven consecutive home games and hasn’t lost at Solheim Field since a 2-0 loss to St. Francis in the Section 5-3A elimination bracket final on June 5, 2023.