REVERSAL OF FORTUNE: Members of the Princeton University baseball team celebrate a run during the best-of-three Ivy League Championship Series last weekend at Clarke Field. After dropping game one 8-7 on Saturday, the Tigers came back on Sunday and won game two 6-2 before producing a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning of game three to win the finale 2-1 and its first Ivy crown since 2011. Princeton, now 24-18 after going 7-32 in 2015, will find out its NCAA assignment on May 30. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

It wasn’t easy for pitcher Cameron Mingo to reach the penultimate moment of his college career, toeing the rubber for the Princeton University baseball team last Sunday afternoon to start the decisive game of the Ivy League Championship Series.

“It was a difficult route to get here,” said senior right-hander Mingo, a 6’4, 180-pound native of Eden Prairie, Minn. “I had bone spurs in my elbow and two surgeries on it before they got it right.”

The Princeton squad has been through difficult times as it bounced back from going 7-32 overall and 4-16 in the Ivy season in 2015 to win the Gehrig Division and earn home field advantage for the ILCS with a 13-7 Ivy record.

“We have been resilient the whole year, we have had a lot of games where we got down early,” said Mingo.

“We have had doubleheaders where we lost the first game and we have tried to come back. We try to play hard and to our ability every single day, no matter what happens the game before.”

The team’s resilience was on display on Sunday as it started the day by beating Yale 6-2 to force a decisive game three.

“We definitely had a lot of confidence from that game,” said Mingo of the win which saw Princeton junior ace Chad Powers throw seven strong innings and senior third baseman Billy Arendt trigger the offense by going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles.

“We know Chad is probably the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year and when you get four runs for him, you are probably going to win that game. That helped build a lot of momentum going into the final game as well.”

As Mingo warmed up for the finale, he focused on keeping his nerves in check.

“I tried to take it like any other game,” recalled Mingo. “I try to be calm and just not think about anything but me and the catcher and I think that is what I did.”

After giving up a run in the first inning, Mingo settled down and hurled a career game, shutting Yale out after the first, going all nine innings, giving up eight hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

The Tigers, though, were quiet at the plate as they were held scoreless going into the bottom of the ninth. Producing their most amazing show of resilience of the spring, the Tigers pulled out a 2-1 win as they proceeded to score two runs on a hit, a walk, two hit batters and a wild pitch, setting off a wild celebration as fellow students streamed onto the diamond to mob the players.

“I am confident that we are going to come through in any situation,” said Mingo, reflecting on the dramatic rally which improved Princeton to 24-18 and clinched its first Ivy crown since 2011.

“Once we got a few guys on I had a good feeling that we were going to have a lot of momentum.”

In assessing his mound effort, Mingo said he gained more and more confidence as the game unfolded.

“I was throwing the ball well and they just hit some good pitches in the first inning,” said Mingo.

“I really tried to go in on guys and establish a fastball and I think they were having a little trouble with that.”

While Princeton’s remarkable turnaround is a major surprise to some, the players believed all along that they had a good chance for an Ivy crown.

“It means a lot, it was our goal from the start of the season,” said Mingo.

“Even though last year was tough, we knew we were going to have a really good team with good pitching, good hitting, and good fielding. It means a lot and embodies our whole season of work.”

Mingo’s superb work on Sunday will leave him with an unforgettable memory.

“It is really big for me,” said Mingo, who is 6-3 with a 3.81 ERA in 10 appearances this year after making a total of eight appearances over the previous two seasons.

“I am really happy right now to have the last game of my career here and to have gone from where we started to where we are now. It means the world to me.”

Princeton head coach Scott Bradley was very happy to see Mingo come through with his clutch performance.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am for Cam Mingo,” said Bradley. “As a freshman, he was one of the best pitchers in the Ivy League. He has had two years interrupted. He has been OK this year at times but that performance is unbelievable.”

For Bradley, Princeton’s reversal of fortune this spring has a surreal quality.

“What this team has done is unbelievable when you think about what we did last year,” asserted Bradley.

“This should get national attention. We have gone from a seven-win team at the bottom of virtually every NCAA statistic and we win the league. It is amazing what these guys have done from the start of the year to now.”

The title-winning rally was the latest amazing chapter in the championship story.

“It starts, we get a hit; Danny Hoy had a rough one before but he got the hit,” said Bradley. “It was crazy the way it finished. The whole year was just mind-boggling.”

Until Princeton finds out its NCAA assignment on May 30, Bradley is going to savor things in the interim.

“These guys have to worry about exams but it makes watching college baseball fun over the next three weeks to see who we are going to play,” said Bradley.

In Mingo’s view, no matter where Princeton is sent for the NCAAs they will have plenty of fun.

This week there was a little bit of pressure but once we get out there, there is nothing,” said Mingo. “We can go out there and play our best game and whatever happens, happens.”