Spring trip gives PU a chance to fill lineup

Gemberling looking like starter for baseball

By: Justin Feil
   Brad Gemberling looks at the Princeton University baseball team’s talented freshmen and can identify with their early adjustment.
   Gemberling had all the physical tools coming out of Strath Haven (Pa.) High, but it took him about half of his freshman season to put everything together to become an effective collegiate pitcher.
   "Especially being a freshman, it’s just about confidence," Gemberling said. "In the beginning of last year, it was little nerve-wracking. I got off to bad start and then I figured it out. In high school, I could just throw my fastball by guys. You could throw it down the middle and they couldn’t hit it because of the level. In college, you have to locate and throw your offspeed stuff. If you make a mistake, it gets hit. As the year went on, I started pitching in more pressure situations."
   It was Gemberling who struck out the side against Cornell last spring in the eighth inning and allowed just one run for the win in the ninth inning as the Tigers sewed up their 10th Gehrig Division championship in 11 seasons. Gemberling appeared in 16 games last season, 13 as a reliever. In one of his three starts, he struck out six in a win over Seton Hall. He has picked up from there this season.
   "His stuff is as good as anybody’s," said PU head coach Scott Bradley. "He’s learning how not to overthrow. Last year, he would overthrow and his ball would flatten out. He’s developed more tempo. He’s throwing hard still, but with much less effort. It’s made him much more consistent, especially with his curve ball and he’s added a change up that he’s got a lot more confidence in. He’s got as good a breaking pitch as anyone we’ve had here. It’s deadly to right handers and left handers."
   After being used primarily as a reliever, Gemberling is hoping to win a spot as a starter this year. That’s what the games leading up to Ivy League play will determine. He could be a reliever or a starter, but his main focus is just on helping the Tigers any way he can. It’s a little different approach from his start to his collegiate career.
   "Last year, I thought a lot more about where I’d fall," said the right-hander. "I thought about whether I’d be a reliever or starter or how many runs I had given up. I thought about stats more. This year, I’ve kind of gone into it with an attitude more of, it’s baseball, have fun and help the team. It allows you to be more relaxed. You’re able to play better as long as you maintain your focus."
   Gemberling has had remarkable focus through his first two appearances. In an 8-3 loss to Houston last Sunday that dropped Princeton to 1-5 this season, Gemberling allowed just one hit in 3Ð innings and struck out three. In his only other appearance of the season, he struck out four in 3 innings. He has allowed just one hit and one walk in 6Ð innings.
   "I’ve had two good outings so far," he said. "The season is pretty young. Spring break is when we come together and figure out our rotation and fill in the starting spots. The first two weekends, you see who plays where and where guys fit in the lineup."
   Gemberling is scheduled to start Monday in the third game of a three-game series at UNC-Greensboro that begins Princeton’s spring trip. From there, the Tigers continue series at Davidson and at Longwood (Va.) before returning to Clarke Field for their home opener against Rutgers on Mar. 28.
   "We’re not getting as many games as normal," Bradley said. "Normally, we like to load up with doubleheaders on the first and last weekend of the trip. But the weather has been so nice in the south that nobody has been rained out and nobody really needs to make anything up with doubleheaders. We have eight games and usually we try to have 10.
   "We’re looking to stretch our starting pitching out a little. We’ve limited them to three or four innings per game. Two of the games we lost, we lost late when we had a pitcher throwing well but it was time to take them out."
   Gemberling is looking forward to proving he can pitch as well in a starting role as he did in relief spots as a freshman. He faced the pressure situations last year and dealt with situations he didn’t do much at Strath Haven, including appearing before 6,000 fans in the NCAA Tournament last season.
   "It’s an adjustment," he said of the reliever role. "It’s a whole different mindset especially real late in a game in a closer role. As a reliever, you need to get warmed up quickly. You need to get ready for all four games in a weekend. When you’re in those spots, it’s also an adrenaline rush. You can’t hold anything back."
   Gemberling fine-tuned his pitching over the summer in the Delaware County League. It was a wood bat league that helped him work on his approach as much as his abilities.
   "There were a lot of college players and a few who played Single- or Double-A," he said. "We had one guy in our outfield who was in the major leagues for about six years. There was a huge range of talent. The best part was I was able to deal with guys who were around the game 25-30 years. I worked on getting real good command of my off-speed stuff and how to deal with pacing through the game and all the intangibles that make you a better pitcher."
   Gemberling hopes it benefits him as he aims for one of the starting spots. Princeton lost a steady starter to graduation in Erik Stiller, but the rest of the staff is intact from a year ago. Offensively, the Tigers lost two of their top three hitters in Zach Wendkos and Andrew Salini as well as one of their steadiest fielders in Stephen Wendell.
   "Without doubleheaders on our first couple weekends — usually we play doubleheaders and get in four games and we’ve only gotten in three in our first two weekend — it’s gone a little slower," Bradley said of replacing the graduates. "We want to see them get more at bats, so hopefully we can do that coming up."
   Princeton had brought in nine freshmen, including their top hitter at the moment, Greg Van Horn from Cranford. He is batting .474 with a home run and two doubles in his first six games.
   "The feeling is we have an incredible amount of potential," Gemberling said. "We have some of the best pure talent, especially among the freshman class, from talking to some of the older guys that we’ve had in years. But that doesn’t make us a great team. One, we need to get more confidence. We kind of got the bug of winning last year. That happens and it starts to become customary. We play some pretty good teams, but talent-wise we can stack up against most any team."
   And if the Tiger newcomers can get up to speed as fast as Gemberling did last year, Princeton figures to be in good shape when the Ivy schedule starts Mar. 31 with a home series against Brown.
   "We’re starting to see what happened with me last year with the freshmen now," Gemberling said. "Not all of them, but some of them. They were doing well in the winter, and then when you get outside with the southern teams, it’s a whole different game. We had a lot of freshmen who looked real, real good. They’re starting to see it’s about confidence. It’s about getting into the mindset you’re not going to be best player on the field right away."
   It took Gemberling a little time to figure that one out. But he developed into a valuable contributor, and is being counted on to deliver more this season. He is in the same boat as everyone else on the team. He is fighting for a position, a starting spot, for the most important part of the season, the Ivy League season.
   "The best approach is, as a pitcher or hitter, whenever you’re out there you just need to perform," he said. "Whether you’re a starter or reliever, if don’t give up any runs, you’re doing what you can. If you’re a hitter, you can move a runner over with a sac fly or bunt or whatever. It’s hard to step out of the mindset and realize you don’t need to figure out the big picture. You don’t need to figure out where you’ll be in 20 games. That’s what I did last year."
   Brad Gemberling is using that experience. He is a year older, a year wise, and has a year of Ivy battles under him. Wherever he falls this season, he is ready to help the Tiger baseball team chase another Ivy crown.
   "Brad is off to a good start," Bradley said. "We thought this was going to be the year he would have a chance to have a more prominent role.
   "Right now," he added, "the way he’s throwing, he’s going to start. It’s what he wants. He’s earned it. He’s shown it with the start he’s had."