Catcher turned pitcher Hildreth leads baseball to Monmouth win

In the top of the eighth inning yesterday, the baseball team needed an arm. In the bottom of that inning, it needed a bat.

Facing Monmouth at Clarke Field, the Tigers got both from junior Casey Hildreth.

Hildreth, who started yesterday's game as the designated hitter, singled in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth after pitching in the top half of the inning, earning the victory in baseball's 7-4 win over Monmouth.

Depleted by two injured pitchers, sophomore Tommy Crenshaw and freshman Scott Hindman, the Princeton pitching staff had to call on someone else. After he saw Hildreth — usually a catcher — pitch at Princeton's youth camp this summer, head coach Scott Bradley knew exactly to whom to turn.

In his first career appearance, Hildreth gave up one run. In the bottom of the inning, however, he earned it back at the plate.

Tied 4-4 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, Princeton got back-to-back singles from sophomore Pat Boran and junior Andrew Hanson. And then Hildreth singled to left, scoring Boran. Monmouth left fielder Mike Thompson overthrew the catcher on the play, allowing Hanson to score and Hildreth to move to third. Hildreth scored when senior Buster Small's fly to right was dropped, giving the Tigers their final margin of victory.

Yesterday's game, rescheduled from March 21, gave Bradley a chance to try out Hildreth against a non-conference opponent.

The injuries to the pitching staff and the fact that teams are only allowed to take 22 players to road games may force Hildreth on to the hill again this weekend.

"I wanted to get him an inning before we go into the weekend so that when we have to use him, it's not the first time he's been on the mound," Bradley said.

Rocky Road

This weekend, the road to a third-straight Gehrig Division title does not get any easier for the Tigers. After a Saturday doubleheader at Yale, the Tigers wrap up the weekend with two games at Brown.

"I personally think right now that Brown is the best team in the league," Bradley said.

He may be right. The Bears are coming off their best season in school history and lost only one position player and one pitcher from a squad that finished second in the Rolfe Division last year.

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The infield returns two first-team All-Ivy selections including senior Jeff Lawler, the Brown hockey star and second baseman who hit .469 in 32 at-bats last weekend. The outfield is an experienced squad that made only five errors last season.

Brown's pitching staff is the most improved part of the team. Junior Jim Johnson, who went 5-0 in league play last season and pitched a complete game victory against Liberty earlier this season, anchors the staff. This season he has been joined by six newcomers, four freshmen and two transfers — junior Jeff Pashalides from Stanford and sophomore Matt Galati from the University of Richmond.

Princeton's other weekend opponent, Yale, is struggling. The Bulldogs finished 7-13 in conference play last year, last in the Rolfe Division. Last weekend Yale got swept in doubleheaders at Penn and Columbia.

"This is a big weekend for us," Bradley said. "We're not going to win the championship this weekend, but we don't want to put ourselves in a hole."