POWER PITCHER: Princeton University junior star Chad Powers fires a pitch in recent action. Powers, who was named the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year this spring, will be looking to come up big this weekend as Princeton competes in the NCAA Regional at Lafayette, La. Powers went 6-3 with a 2.07 ERA this spring to help the Tigers post an overall record of 24-19. Princeton, seeded fourth, will play the host and top-seeded University of Louisiana-Lafayette (41-19), on Friday evening in an opening round contest of the double-elimination regional. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

The next chapter of the amazing turnaround story written by the Princeton University baseball team this spring will take place down in the Bayou.

The Tigers, who went from 7-32 and the Ivy League cellar in 2015 to 24-19 and the league title this spring, have been sent to Lafayette, La. regional of the NCAA tournament.

Princeton, seeded fourth, will play the host and top-seeded University of Louisiana-Lafayette, on Friday evening in an opening round contest at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. The Tigers and the Ragin’ Cajuns, ranked 17th nationally, will be joined at the double-elimination regional by second-seeded Sam Houston State and third-seeded Arizona, who will face off  in the other opening round matchup.

Princeton is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since the 2011 Texas Regional, where the Tigers fell 5-3 to Texas and 3-1 to Texas State. It is Princeton’s seventh trip to the NCAAs in the 19-season tenure of head Scott Bradley, who was named the 2016 Ivy League Coach of the Year.

In program history, Princeton has won three games in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers defeated Rider in 1965, beat The Citadel in 2001 and bested No. 8 Virginia in 2004. Since the regional format began in 1975, the Tigers have never advanced to the Super Regionals weekend. Princeton has been to one College World Series in 1951, losing to Southern California and Tennessee.

The Tigers bring plenty of momentum into the competition, having gone 13-6 in their last 19 games and showing a penchant for come-from-behind victories. In securing its bid to the tournament, Princeton staged a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning in the decisive third game of the Ivy League Championship Series to edge Yale 2-1.

Offensively, the Tigers are led by five All-Ivy performers, senior Danny Hoy (.317 batting average with 40 runs scored, 4 homers and 26 RBIs in 2016), senior Billy Arendt (.267, 4 homers, 18 RBIs), junior Zack Belski .(265, 3 homers, 28 RBIs), junior Nick Hernandez (.290, 3 homers, 32 RBIs), and freshman Jesper Horsted (.326, 20 runs, 12 RBIs).

Princeton boasts a strong starting pitching rotation in junior Chad Powers (6-3, 2.07 ERA in 2016), junior Keelan Smithers (4-1, 3.46 ERA), and senior Cameron Mingo (6-3, 3.81 ERA). Powers was named the Ivy Pitcher of the Year and a first-team All Ivy pick with Smithers earning second-team honors.

The Tigers will face a formidable challenge in the Ragin’ Cajuns, who have posted a 41-19 record on the season and recently became the first program in Sun Belt Conference history to win three straight conference tournaments. UL-Lafayette has won 10 straight games and is looking to advance to its third consecutive Super Regional.

The Sam Houston State Bearkats are 41-20 overall and earned the Southland Conference’s automatic bid. The Bearkats have made the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five seasons.

This is Arizona’s first trip to the NCAA tourney since winning the 2012 National Championship. The Wildcats are 38-20 this season and finished with a RPI of 21. Arizona and Princeton have faced off one time with the Wildcats getting the victory in the 1992 meeting.