Wait is over; it’s Miller time for PU

Senior, Tigers baseball ready for NCAAs after layoff

By: Justin Feil
   If Jon Miller had been able to start the NCAA Regional on Monday, hours after he heard that the Princeton University baseball team was going to Auburn, he would have done so.
   "I’m ready to get on a plane now," the Tiger senior said Monday. "I can’t wait to get down there. It’s 80 degrees and sunny. We’re playing in what was voted the best college ballpark in America, in front of 5,000 people. It’s going to be something I remember the rest of my life."
   Miller certainly hasn’t forgotten his first two trips to the NCAAs, as a freshman and sophomore, but no one would blame him if he did.
   He had five at bats in each of those season. Five. He had a .000 batting average as a sophomore and drove in one run, by grounding out with the bases loaded and no outs. His year was "highlighted" by five putouts. That’s right, squatting in his catcher’s gear, he held on to the third strike five times. Whoopee.
   The Miller that takes the field 7:30 p.m. tonight against the host Auburn Tigers has certainly paid his dues. He’s worlds away from the Miller that sat the bench two years ago, the one whose main job it was to warm up pitchers in the bullpen.
   His role now is as a team leader, primarily on offense, but he’s done the job on defense with surprising success.
   "He’s our best and most consistent hitter," said PU head coach Scott Bradley. "With Johnny, the unique thing is you’re talking about a kid who walked on here, had five at bats as a freshman and five at bats as a sophomore. He just continued to improve and get better. He’s turned himself into some kind of player."
   Still laughing at Miller’s first two years? Try his last two seasons.
   Last year, he was fourth on the team in average and hits, third in runs batted in and tied for the team lead in doubles. He hit well enough that Princeton had to find somewhere for him to play, whether it was catcher or as designated hitter.
   This season, he again began as designated hitter primarily with the development of slugging catcher Tim Lahey. But midway through the season Bradley’s father had a suggestion.
   "Can Johnny Miller play third?" Bradley recalls his dad’s question. It’s a question that Miller wondered as well when it was propositioned.
   "The last time I played third was when I was 11 years old," Miller said. "I had always caught. If I had my pick of position now, I would still want to catch."
   He hides his feelings well. Miller made just five errors this season, recorded 74 putouts — a real highlight — and had 24 assists. It’s impressive in his first season at third in 11 years, but nothing compared to his offensive numbers.
   A team-leading .346 batting average. A second-best, by one, hit total of 55. A team-leading 13 doubles. Sixteen walks, tied for the best on the team. A team-best .407 on-base percentage. And a strikeout-to-at bat ratio of 1:10.
   "I just think it was a year of experience," Miller said. "My junior year was the first year to really play. I played good competition in the preseason and then in the Ivy season. I definitely felt more confident coming into this year."
   Now, he’s hoping some of his regular-season success of this year carries over to his first true NCAA postseason.
   "The only pressure I feel is this is my last go around," said Miller, who grew up in Washington, D.C. "These could be my last games. I don’t feel any pressure to perform. Everything will take care of itself."
   And, if there’s a seemingly safe bet, it’s that Princeton will give Auburn a game. In each of the first regional games in their last two appearances, the Ivy League Tigers lost, 7-6, to Houston in 2000 and, 13-12 in 12 innings, to Central Florida in 2001. In 2001, they also won their first NCAA tournament game in 36 years when they defeated The Citadel. Miller gives Princeton a better chance of doing some regional damage this year.
   "It goes back to pitching and defense," he said. "We had Chris Young our freshman year. I think we have a deeper and more veteran pitching staff now. They have the potential to shut down a team like Auburn. We have the pitching to keep us in games. This is a good offense team, too. It’s underrated. We’re going to play good defense and our pitching will keep us in games.
   "Sophomore year, it was a veteran team like this that took Central Florida to 12 innings, and that kind of game could go either way. I see similarities in the makeup of this team."
   While Miller is one of many Tigers making their first significant post-Ivy season appearance, pitchers David Boehle and Ryan Quillian have each pitched in two NCAA games for the Tigers. Eric Fitzgerald, one of a handful of capable hitters for which moving Miller to third base opened the designated hitter spot, has played in three NCAA games. Thomas Pauly, who is third in the NCAAs in earned run average and strikeouts per nine innings, also appeared as a freshman two years ago.
   "We have a very, very nice mix of youth and experience," Bradley said. "The key is our experience on the mound. We’re playing with guys who have been on the mound in regionals. I just don’t think there’s going to be that feeling that we should be in awe of everything. Everything is there this year in terms of experience and athleticism. It’s a nice mix of experience, youth and athleticism."
   Princeton hopes that’s enough to escape a regional filled with big-conference teams. Today’s first game will pair Ohio State of the Big Ten and Clemson of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Princeton has not played since May 11, when it clinched the Ivy League’s automatic bid by topping Harvard in the best-of-three championship series. The Tigers held an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday, and haven’t shown signs of rust in past two years after long layoffs before the NCAA tournament.
   An 18-day layoff is nothing to Miller, who’s been shelved for almost entire seasons, but now faces the biggest games of his career.
   "I think he’ll have a huge weekend," Bradley said. "He’s one of the guys who in the past has always hit the better pitching really well. He’s always hit good, hard-throwing guys. He has good at bats. He doesn’t strike out a lot. He has real quick hands. He’s been a real good hitter for us."
   Jon Miller has waited three years, or rather a lifetime, for the chance to show that in an NCAA regional. That chance starts today. And 7:30 can’t come fast enough.