Tigers baseball loses to Becker for second time

Games on Monday, May 13 and Friday, May 17 were both decided by one run

After letting a three-run lead slip away in a 4-3 loss to Becker on Monday, May 13, in eight innings, Princeton (13-6, 9-3) had an opportunity for redemption against the Bulldogs on Friday, May 17, at Solheim Field in Princeton.

Instead, Becker (15-4, 11-2) scored the first five runs of the game, and after allowing four Tigers runs in the bottom of the fifth, held on for a 5-4 win.

Tigers head coach Brian Julson said Friday’s game had each team’s role reversed.

“We didn’t close the door [on Monday] and let them come back,” Julson said. “It went extra innings when we should’ve made a few plays here and there. [Tonight], they jumped on us early because we gave them some extra outs. Our kids have high character and they’re never going to quit. They’re never out of a game.

“I expected us to come back and win tonight. We fell a little short. Congrats to Becker. They’ve been outstanding all season. We hope that we can prove that we’re a better team come section time.”

The Bulldogs scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning on an error by Tigers junior shortstop Cullen Drews. Becker scored again on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Princeton conceded two more runs to the Bulldogs in the fourth inning and one in the fifth. Becker senior first baseman Reid McCalla hit a long home run to left field off of Tigers senior pitcher Will Peterson to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 cushion. Down 5-0, the Tigers’ comeback bid began when Drews hit a two-run single and advanced to second. Senior right fielder Niko Bratulich hit a two-run single of his own to cut the Tigers’ deficit to one. It was as close as Princeton would get. Becker’s bullpen shut out the Tigers’ potent offense and escaped Solheim Field with its second win over Princeton in five days.

Player of the Game

Bulldogs senior pitcher Kellan Graning threw two innings of shutout baseball in relief of freshman pitcher Gerad Hanle. Graning allowed no runs nor hits and three walks while striking out four Tigers batters.

What’s next

The Tigers travel to Chisago Lakes (7-12, 4-10) to battle the Wildcats on Thursday, May 23, at 4:30 p.m. at the Chisago Lakes High School baseball field. It will be Princeton’s last regular-season game before the Section 5-3A tournament begins next week. Princeton and Becker could face each other again in the postseason with a berth in the Class 3A state baseball tournament on the line.

Julson said he hopes the Tigers can learn from these losses.

“In the playoffs, it all comes down to throwing strikes and playing good defense,” he said. “We haven’t played quality defense yet, and we have to limit strikeouts [on offense]. On Monday, when we were over in Becker, we struck out 11 times. They’ve got outstanding pitching, but we do, too. Our conference is loaded and our section is loaded. Every game is a tough game.”