PISCATAWAY — The baseball team knew its strength this season would be its pitching. The Tigers returned a cadre of starters and brought in a strong freshman class. The heralded pitching staff was supposed to keep the team competitive and its games close.
Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell that to Rutgers.
With two five-run innings — and 17 hits by game's end — the Scarlet Knights solved Princeton's pitching early and often to hand the Tigers a decimating 17-6 loss. Despite jumping out to a 4-0 lead over Rutgers (15-10) at the top of the second inning, Princeton (6-9) left Class of '53 Complex with a bruising loss.
Princeton was quite successful at the plate — the Tigers tallied a total of 13 hits — but the Scarlet Knights' explosive offense triumphed in the hitting duel.
While the Scarlet Knights had no trouble driving runners in, Princeton often left base runners stranded. Two key errors and too many late inning walks by the Tigers helped spur Rutgers' run feasting.
On the board
Princeton's bats started off on fire. In the top of the first inning, the first three Tigers up each had singles, loading the bases for junior right fielder Max Krance. The cleanup hitter sent a long fly ball to right center — a sacrifice fly that allowed lead-off hitter John Watterson to sprint home for the first run of the game.
Junior designated hitter Casey Hildreth then hit a grounder to the Rutgers shortstop, allowing sophomore shortstop Pat Boran to run home while Hildreth was getting thrown out at first. Sophomore third baseman Eric Voelker then flew out to center left for the third out, but the Tigers were on the board.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Chris Higgins (0-2) started on the mound for the Tigers and only saw four batters in the bottom of the first. Rutgers leadoff David DeJesus sent a bullet right up the middle, which was stopped only by Higgins' right shin. The Tiger hurler walked it off and forced the next three batters to either ground out or fly out to end the inning.
In the top of the second, the Tigers extended their lead by two more runs. Senior catcher Buster Small started it off with a single to right, and junior center fielder Mickey Martin followed that up with a blooping single of his own just inside the left field line.
Junior second baseman Tim Phillips then sent a long fly ball to deep right-center, and the Rutgers center fielder appeared to get right under the ball. He lost it at the last moment, however, and the ball bounced out of his glove, loading the bases for the Tigers. Watterson followed by roping a long shot down the left field line, picking up two RBIs in the process.
The Tigers led 4-0 after the top of the second — a lead they would soon lose and never regain.
Resuscitation
Rutgers came to life in the bottom of the second, tallying five hits. Coupled with a Princeton error by left fielder Watterson, Rutgers finished the inning off with five runs to take the lead.
The Tigers went three up, three down in the top of the third, but the Scarlet Knights would stick around a little longer in the bottom half of the inning. Rutgers first baseman Scott O'Brien singled to center, and then left fielder Joe Cirone sent him home with a two-run homer, setting Rutgers up with a 7-4 lead.
The Tigers would add to their score in top of the fifth, but it would be their final runs of the game. After fouling off several offerings — on his eighth pitch from Rutgers hurler Tim Wheeler — junior first baseman Andrew Hanson sent a shot straight over the center field wall 410 feet for a solo home run.
Huge sixth and seventh innings by the Scarlet Knights and a lack of run production, however, sealed the Tigers' fate. Rutgers came up huge at the end, tallying five runs in the sixth and four more runs the next inning to finish the game with a whopping 17 — while holding a frustrated Princeton team scoreless.
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