Baseball: Tigers down Pirates on road in 10 innings

The Pirates (11-11) put a runner on base in each of the first five innings, though only one came by way of a base hit, as two reached on errors and two more were hit by pitches. The hosts’ best chance came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Senior left-handed pitcher David Palms, relieving classmate Matt Grabowski after three solid innings, walked second baseman Mike Genovese and pegged first baseman Sean Gusrang with no outs.

But Palms made an athletic play on a sacrifice attempt to throw out Genovese at third and later fanned right fielder Will Walsh with two runners in scoring position to end the inning.

Double plays erased two more Seton Hall runners, and the Pirates were held scoreless through seven.

Princeton, meanwhile, had many more opportunities but struggled to convert. The visitors stranded runners in scoring position in the first, second and fifth frames before they finally broke through in the top of the seventh. Freshman designated hitter Ryan Albert reached on an error and freshman third baseman Jonathan York walked, putting two on with two outs. Sophomore infielder Alex Flink smacked a pinch-hit double, driving home Albert for the game’s first run.

The Tigers had a chance to push some insurance runs across, but sophomore shortstop Matt Bowman struck out with the bases loaded.

Seton Hall answered in its half of the eighth inning. With a struggling offense in a low-scoring game, the hosts turned to small-ball strategies to even the score off senior right-handed pitcher Matt Welsh. Designated hitter Michael Betz was hit by a pitch — the third Pirate to be beaned — advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a two-out single by Genovese.

The Tigers mounted a two-out rally in the ninth, as Flink’s second double in as many at-bats followed a single by York, but both were stranded on base. Junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Makis sent down the side in order, extending the game to extra innings.

It did not take long for the visitors to strike again. Bowman led off the 10th frame with a bunt single and moved over on a one-out base hit by Ford. Two batters later, sophomore outfielder Nate Baird beat out an infield single and forced an errant throw to first, allowing Bowman to score from second.

Princeton left three more runners on base in that inning, but Makis needed no more help. He retired all three batters he faced in the 10th, inducing a grounder from pinch hitter Chase Grey for the final out.

For the game, the Tigers’ pitchers combined to allow just two hits and two walks. They did so despite keeping the ball in play; each of the four hurlers notched only one strikeout.

York was the team’s most productive hitter, going three-for-four with a walk, while Flink and Bowman added two hits apiece.

After closing a four-game series against Navy last weekend with a victory and beating Seton Hall on Wednesday, the Tigers are riding a season-high two-game win streak entering their first Ivy League games. Brown (2-12) visits Clarke Field for a doubleheader on Saturday, the first time Princeton will play at home this season, and Yale (10-8) comes to town for two more games on Sunday afternoon.