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An extra-innings win against Princeton hands Brown second consecutive series win

Power at the plate in the game’s final innings carried Bruno to victory.

Two baseball players converse.

Brown outfielder Mika Petersen ’26 removes elbow guard after earning a base hit. Courtesy of Brown Athletics

After a split outcome during Friday’s doubleheader against Dartmouth (8-21, 5-10 Ivy), the Brown baseball team (9-22, 5-10 Ivy) took on the Princeton Tigers (10-26, 6-8 Ivy) in the series tiebreaker at Clarke Field in Princeton, New Jersey. Getting down to the wire, Sunday’s game went into extra innings. But after a stellar performance, Brown walked away with a 12-8 victory, claiming their second consecutive series win.

On Sunday, Princeton was first to take the field with freshman standout Liam Kinneen taking the mound for the Tigers. Wielding his weight to force Brown’s hitters behind the count, Kinneen struck out the Bears’ first two hitters. Though Mika Petersen ’26 ended the Bruno drought at the plate with a single to the right side, Kinnen squashed Brown’s first-inning hopes, forcing DJ Dillehay ’26 to send both teams to the dugout.

Hoping to mirror Kinnen’s success, Luke Trout ’28 took the mound for the Bears. Trout started off strong, forcing a Tiger batter to ground out. But shortly after, Princeton’s Caden Shapiro doubled to left center, and, after Jake Bold singled to the left side, Princeton had two runners in the corners. 

Jake Kernodle continued the Tigers’ rally with a single of his own that scored Shapiro and gave Princeton an early 1-0 lead. But bouncing back, Trout was able to stop the bleeding during the next at-bat, forcing Nick Shenefelt into a double play that ended the inning. 

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The second inning was significantly less chaotic, as both teams left runners on bases but failed to score. 

In the third inning, the Bears found some offensive rhythm. Petersen walked on five pitches and then stole second. To complement Petersen’s clever baserunning, Dillehay singled to center field and sent Petersen home to tie things up 1-1. Trout excelled on the defensive end, forcing Princeton batters to chase and fly out.

At first, the fourth inning looked promising as Chris Butera ’28 was hit by a pitch. But the Bears were never able to capitalize on the opportunity, as the ensuing batters struck out.

Princeton, on the other hand, found additional offensive firepower. Shenefelt hit a ground-rule double, Jordan Kelly hit a sacrifice fly and Kevin Blowers hit a strong single — all of which added two runs for the Tigers.

The Bears bounced back in the fifth inning, as Petersen hit a home run to right center that brought Brown back into striking distance at 3-2. Defensively, Brown was solid with Trout putting down three batters in a row.

Though the Bears’ offense in the sixth inning was uneventful, Bruno’s shutout defensive play energized them, and the Bears tied things up in the seventh inning. After a triple from Nathan Brasher ’25 and a sacrifice fly out from Petersen, Brown finally pulled the score to 3-3. 

But just as the Bears seemed to be back, the Tigers’ offense stepped up, scoring two runs on two hits in the seventh inning that gave Princeton a 5-3 lead heading into the eighth inning. 

But the Bears’ effort was unwavering. Powered by hits from Mark Henshon ’26, Brandon Chang ’27, Butera, Gunner Boree ’25, Brasher and Dillehay, Brown rallied for five runs that gave the Bears a 8-5 lead and silenced the Princeton faithful. 

Up by three runs in the ninth inning, Brown needed just three outs to put this one away. But Princeton matched Brown’s ferocious effort, capitalizing on Brown’s pitching inaccuracy and scoring three runs of their own on two hits that sent the game into extra innings at 8-8.

Despite blowing a commanding lead, the Bears rallied, showing tremendous resilience in the tenth inning, scoring four additional runs on four hits and an error that gave them a healthy 12-8 lead. Bruno then followed up on their offensive power with a sound defensive performance that did not allow the Tigers any runs, securing a 12-8 win.

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Sunday’s win did not only provide the Bears its second series win in a row — and in the season — but it also lifted them from the not-so-coveted spot of last in the Ivy League. With a 5-10 in-conference record, the Bears now hold seventh place in the Ivy League, ahead of Dartmouth.

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Cooper Herman

Cooper Herman is a senior staff writer covering sports. He is a sophomore from Alexandria, Virginia studying Economics and International and Public Affairs.



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