Catching Up Yet Again

 Here's another one of those "catching up" entries that everyone seems to like so much:

* The baseball team had an amazing win Wednesday afternoon against a Rutgers team that had won 16 straight games and was ranked eighth in the country. Led by an extraordinary relief appearance from Reece Rabin, Princeton knocked off the Scarlet Knights 9-7.

Princeton jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings, getting started in the first with a two-run home run from Matt Scannell. Rutgers would score once in the third and then six times in the fourth to take a 7-6 lead, but then in came Rabin, with one out. What did he do? He went the rest of the way, all five and two/thirds innings, and allowed no runs and only one hit. 

Nick DiPietrantonio tied it on a home run in the eighth, and then Scannell doubled in two in the top of the ninth. Rabin then finished it off with a 1-2-3 ninth. 

It was a great win for the Tigers, who have had so many tough losses this season. To knock off a Top 10 team? That's season-making for a group of players and coaches who have never given up.

Princeton is home this weekend for three against Harvard (starting at 11:30 tomorrow with a doubleheader and then a single-game Sunday at noon).  

* Speaking of huge wins over nationally ranked teams on long winning streaks, the men's volleyball team has come a long way this season. How far? After last night's win over Penn State, the Tigers have made it all the way to the EIVA championship game tomorrow, where the opponent will be NJIT.

 Penn State, by the way, is the second ranked team in the country and had won 19 straight matches. It was an extraordinary performance by Princeton, who won the first two games, lost the next two and fell behind in the fifth before rallying to win it 15-12 on Penn State's home court.

* The weather this weekend in Princeton figures to be perfectly spring-like tomorrow and then summery Sunday. 

* Speaking of Princeton-Harvard, there are two lacrosse games in Cambridge between the teams tomorrow. The men play first at 1, followed by the women at 4.

The women clinched a spot in the Ivy League tournament with its 15-13 win over Penn Wednesday night. The Tigers have Harvard tomorrow and Columbia Wednesday, while Yale has Columbia tomorrow. Right now Yale and Princeton are unbeaten in the league, and they face each other a week from tomorrow in Princeton in a game that very likely will determine the host for the Ivy tournament the following weekend.

As for the men, Princeton would win the outright Ivy title with wins in its final two games (at Harvard and home against Cornell as part of what will be another huge doubleheader). At the same time, Cornell would also win the Ivy League title with a win tomorrow (against Brown at home) and then next week at Princeton.

In the short run, Princeton would clinch a spot in the Ivy tournament with a win over Harvard or with a Cornell win over Brown, even if Princeton loses to Harvard. The Crimson, for their part, are also playing to get into the Ivy tournament and to also possibly be the top seed and host. 

* The women's tennis team is at Cornell today and then home against Columbia Sunday. Wins in both would mean at least a share of the Ivy League championship.

The Tigers are 4-1 in the league, tied with Penn for first. The Quakers, whom Princeton defeated 4-0 earlier this year, are playing the same two teams in reverse order. 

Cornell, who is 3-2 in the league, would get at least a share of the championship with a sweep of its own. There could actually be a very crowded share of the championship, with Harvard and Yale also at 3-2 (though they do play each other this weekend).

* The Ivy League golf tournaments will be held this weekend, with the men at the Century Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., and the women at the Ridge at Back Brook, which is in Ringoes, not far from Princeton.

HERE is information on the women's tournament. HERE is information on the men's tournament.

* The softball team is home for three games against Penn this weekend (two tomorrow with Game 1 at 12:30, one Sunday at 12:30).

The Ivy standings right now have Harvard at 9-3, with Princeton at 11-4 and Dartmouth at 6-3. That's a lot of disparity in games played. Penn is 5-7 in the league. 

Princeton has three more with Columbia next weekend in its final regular-season games.

Eventually, everyone will have played 21 games, and the top two teams will meet in the Ivy championship series. 

As a reminder, you can watch the baseball and softball games for free this weekend without having to ever move your chair.

* The complete schedule is HERE.