COMING THROUGH: Princeton University baseball player Nick Hernandez follows through on a swing as the Tigers hosted Brown in a doubleheader last Sunday to start their Ivy League campaign. Senior outfielder Hernandez starred as Princeton swept the Bears 4-3 and 11-5. He went 2-for-4 with a run in the opener and then exploded for a 3-for-4 effort in the nightcap with five RBIs, slamming a two-run homer and a three-run homer. A day later, the Tigers were on the short end of a sweep as they fell 8-0 and 3-1 to Yale. Princeton, now 6-16 overall and 2-2 Ivy, plays at Monmouth on April 5 and then resumes Ivy play with doubleheaders at Dartmouth on April 8 and at Harvard on April 9. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Last spring, the Princeton University baseball team displayed a flair for drama as it won the Ivy League title.

Princeton produced a number of late comebacks on the way to the title, most notably a two-run rally in the ninth inning of the third and decisive game of the Ivy League Championship Series as the Tigers edged Yale 2-1 for the crown.

Picking up where it left off, Princeton showed some of that late inning magic as it opened its 2017 Ivy League campaign by hosting Brown for a doubleheader last Sunday.

Down 2-1 heading into its final at-bat in the seventh inning of the opener, Princeton scored to make it 2-2 and then won the game 3-2 in the eighth.

Princeton senior outfielder Nick Hernandez, who went 2-for-4 with a run in the win, sees resilience as a key quality again for the Tigers.

“I think we have emphasized never giving up throughout the fall and in the beginning of the spring,” said Hernandez, who delivered a key single in the eighth inning rally.

“We have had some losses at the beginning of the season and we have learned from them to battle back, even when the game might be out of reach.”

Hernandez provided drama in the second game against Brown, slugging a 2-run homer in the first inning to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead and then belting a three-run shot in the eighth to give Princeton insurance runs in an 11-5 triumph.

“I think some of the pressure had come off from the first win all around for the team in general and we just came out a little bit more aggressive,” said Hernandez, reflecting on Princeton’s offensive outburst in the nightcap.

“That is a really good team over there, they are much improved from last year. They can swing it a little bit so we knew that we needed some runs. Luckily we came through.”

After Brown plated some runs to narrow the Princeton lead to 7-5, Hernandez came through with his second homer of the contest.

“I was just trying to jump on it, not waste any pitches and hit a fly ball to the outfield to try to get that run home,” said a smiling Hernandez, a 6’2, 205-pound native of Miami, Fla. “Luckily it went a little further than I thought.”

Coming off a solid junior campaign which saw him hit .288 with two homers and 12 RBIs, Hernandez has raised the level of his game this spring, rising his average to .308 with two homers and 12 RBIs.

“Experience is the biggest thing, learning to be a hitter and understanding my swing,” said Hernandez in assessing his progress.

“It is also credit to the coaches and the other guys on this team, it is not all about one person. Luckily I have been put in some situations where I have been expected to produce and I have been able to come through.”

The Tigers are hoping they can come through with a second straight Ivy title.

“We have worked twice as hard from the beginning of the year this year, knowing that we have had a target on our backs since day one,” said Hernandez, who struggled along with the rest of his teammates on Monday as Yale swept a twinbill from Princeton, winning 8-0 and 3-1, as the Tigers moved to 6-16 overall and 2-2 Ivy.

“Everybody in that dugout believes that we can win it again. I think we have the potential, we have the talent, we have a lot of young guys that can contribute. I am excited about us, I think we have a real shot again.”

Hernandez, for his part, is excited to wrap up his college career in style.

“You take a look at yourself in the fall and you realize the number of baseball games I have left in my life are limited,” said Hernandez.

“I am really trying to make an effort to make the most of it and enjoy every day out here. It has been a blessing to be a Princeton baseball player. I intend to make the most out of the last 20 games that we have.”