Although the baseball team used three equally dominating pitchers to power its way past visiting Temple yesterday, one in particular made his mark at Clarke Field — and in the record books as well.
Freshman reliever David Boehle broke the single season saves record in the Tigers' 4-1 victory over the Owls (14-24-3), as the hurler garnered his eighth of the season. The previous record stood for 15 seasons — Mike Fiala '85 and Jeff Golden '99 each had seven.
"I expected to come in here and be happy to throw a few innings here and there and then later on in my career get it going," Boehle said. "But I certainly didn't anticipate getting in the record books, especially as a reliever, because I had never relieved a game in my life."
The freshman has found himself a new home. In the top of the ninth, he struck out the first two Owl batters looking and then caused the third batter to fly out to left, ending the game.
All-around effort
Princeton's (20-14 overall, 12-4 Ivy League) pitchers put in a solid performance that was backed by good run production. While sophomores Nick Pappas and Chris Higgins held Temple to just four hits, the Tigers' bats feasted for eight.
Three of Princeton's four runs came in the third inning, as the Tigers quickly solved Temple starter Mike Caron. With one out, junior designated hitter Tim Phillips sent the ball flying to left and reached second base. Phillips then took third on a wild pitch while freshman second baseman Mike Chernof stood at the plate. After Chernof struck out looking, the two-out rally began.
Junior left-fielder Jon Watterson stepped to the plate, jumped all over the first pitch, and nailed the ball to the gap between left and center. Watterson recorded a double and an RBI, and would soon advance to third off another wild pitch by Caron. Sophomore shortstop Pat Boran —who went 2-for-3 on the day — walked, setting up a man on first and third for junior first-baseman Andrew Hanson.
Hanson sent a scorcher past Temple shortstop Mike Jenkins as Watterson ran in to put the Tigers up 2-0. The final batter of the inning — junior right-fielder Max Krance — was a little too eager after he drove a ball to left that dropped abruptly in the strong wind. Although he recorded an RBI, Krance was thrown out while trying to make it to second.
But the damage had been done. Caron was removed after the next inning having allowed three runs and seven hits in just four innings.
Missed opportunities
The Owls only seriously threatened Princeton's lead in the fifth, as they placed the Tigers in a sticky situation. After Tiger starter Pappas walked the first two batters, Temple's center-fielder Bob Filler reached on a bunt to load up the bases with no outs. A grounder to short by first-baseman Robert Cucinotta scored the runner on third, but the Tigers were able to pull off a double play and ease the Owl threat. Pappas then got the next batter to ground out to second, ending the inning.
Higgins took over on the mound for the Tigers in the sixth, allowing just one run in three innings of work.
Pappas got the win to improve his record to 1-1, while Caron dropped his to 1-4. Boehle added his three-up, three-down effort in the ninth to make a little history.
"This season has been pretty unbelievable," Boehle said. "I love it — I love the role of reliever now. I couldn't be happier with what's going on."
The Tigers are enjoying a nine-game winning streak, and hope to extend it a little further this Friday as they travel to Cornell.
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