Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Rider
Rider Slips Past Baseball 7-6
April 03, 2002 | Baseball
April 3, 2002
Box Score
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ - Rich Brooks singled down the right field line with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Carl Lodenthal and give Rider a 7-6 win over Princeton in men's baseball action on a cold and rainy afternoon at Richard F. Daly Field. The loss breaks the Tigers' six-game win streak, and drops them to 8-12. The Broncs improve to 10-10 with the non-conference win.
Princeton held a 5-1 lead through the top of the sixth inning, but Rider capitalized on three Tigers errors to score five runs on two hits and take a 6-5 lead. Princeton added one run in the top of the seventh to tie the game and set the stage for Brooks.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Leadoff hitter Pat Boran (Sr., Pottsville, PA) doubled down the rightfield line and advanced to third on Eric Fitzgerald's (So., Bellaire, TX) groundout. He then scored on Adam Balkan's (Fr., Roslyn, NY) sacrifice fly to left. Rider tied it up in the bottom of the second. Scott Rich singled to center and scored Brooks for the only run that the Broncs would score on Princeton starter Chris Higgins (Sr., Tulsa, OK). Higgins went five innings in the start, giving up four hits and striking out three.
Princeton added to its lead with a run in the top of the fourth. Balkan walked to start the inning, stole second and then advanced to third on Jon Miller's (Jr., Washington, DC) groundout. Ryan Eldridge then hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Balkan.
The Tigers followed that with a two-run fifth inning. Tim Lahey (So., Worcester, MA) singled to center and Steve Young (So., Brabada Hills, CA) drew a walk to get things going. The runners advanced on a wild pitch and Boran legged out an infield single to load the bases. Fitzgerald put the ball in play to score Lahey, and Balkan's single to left center scored Young for the second run of the inning.
Princeton extended its lead to 5-1 with another run in the sixth inning as Young hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Eldridge.
Rider took the lead in the bottom of the sixth with five unearned runs but the Tigers fought back with a run in the seventh to tie it up at 7-7. Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch to open the inning and then advanced to second on Balkan's single up the middle. Balkan, the reigning IvyLeagueSports.com Rookie of the Week was 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored on the afternoon. Miller laid down a great bunt to advance the runners to second and third with one out. Eldridge recorded his second RBI of the game by putting the ball in play to second to score Fitzgerald and knot the score at 7-7.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, Rider stole the game with a run in the bottom of the ninth. Bill Broome (Jr., Redondo Beach, CA) pitched the final 3.1 innings for Princeton. He gave up just for hits, but taking the loss to drop to 0-1. Nathan Miller (So., Orinda, CA) pitched the first one-third of the sixth inning and gave up two hits and two walks.
Rider used four different pitchers in the game. Starter Joe Berghoff went the first six innings and gave up six hits and four earned runs with four strikeouts in the no-decision. Matt Zupanc and Mark Fisher pitched a combined 1.2 innings and gave up just two hits and one run. Joe Ambler picked up the win by pitching the final 1.1 innings, recording two strikeouts.
Princeton will now return home to put its 4-0 Ivy League record to the test. Harvard will come to town on Saturday, April 6 for a doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m. The Tigers will then host Dartmouth on Sunday, April 7 at noon in a rematch of last year's Ivy League Championship series. Princeton won that series 2-1 to advance to the NCAA championships.
Rider 7, Princeton 6 Princeton 1 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 - 6 8 3 Rider 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 - 7 10 1
E - (P) Boran, Voelker (2), (R) D'Alessandro DP - Princeton 1. LOB - Princeton 8, Rider 8 2B - (P) Boran, (R) D'Alessandro SB - (P) Balkan, Young, (R) Loadenthal. CS - Pesaresi SH - (P) Miller, J. SF - (P) Balkan, Eldridge, Young
WP - Joe Ambler (1-0) LP - Bill Broome (0-1)