Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Old Dominion
Baseball Picks Up First Win Of Season
March 19, 2005 | Baseball
March 19, 2005
Box Score
Norfolk, Va. - The Princeton baseball team score two runs in the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie and go on to a 7-6 win over Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon at the Bud Metheny Complex. Princeton received a strong pitching performance from sophomore Gavin Fabian and took advantage of a couple of Monarch miscues in the field to post its first win of the season.
Princeton jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Senior Adam Balkan led off with a single that dropped in center field and advanced to second on sophomore Sal Iacono's walk. ODU got the next out, but a grounder off the bat of junior Stephen Wendell took a fortunate bounce in the infield and ended up in the outfield to score Balkan and advance Iacono to third. Iacono then scored Princeton's second run when junior Matthew Becker lined a single over the second baseman's head.
The Monarchs answered back in the bottom-half of the second with a pair of unearned runs. Patrick Nichols reached on an error and scored when Steve Harris singled, but the ball was misplayed in the outfield allowing Patrick to score and Harris to get to third. He scored when Justin Gregula hit a sacrifice fly.
The Tigers reassumed the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. The inning began when Wendell singled through the left side. He went to second on a single up the middle by sophomore Aaron Prince and scored on a single through the right side by junior Andrew Salini. A walk to junior Ryan Eldridge loaded the bases and a walk by Balkan scored Prince to give the Tigers the 4-2 lead. Old Dominion chipped one of those runs off in the bottom of the fourth. An infield single by Gregula put a man on first and he scored when Chris Keenan doubled down the right field line. The Monarchs evened up the score in the fifth when Bryan Cipolla hit a solo home run to right field.
Princeton made it 6-4 in the seventh inning with a pair of runs. Balkan reached on a fielder's choice and went to second on freshman Spencer Lucian lined single to right field. An error by ODU's third baseman on a line drive by Wendell scored Balkan and a throwing error by the third baseman on a grounder by Becker scored Lucian to go ahead by two runs.
The Tigers tacked on a run to make it 7-4 in the eighth. Senior Will Venable hit a leadoff single and went to second on a groundout by Eldridge. He scored when Balkan hit an RBI-single up the middle.
ODU scored two runs in the ninth off a walk, a single and a double, but couldn't draw even as the Tigers held on for the win.
Sophomore Gavin Fabian pitched eight inning and allowed four runs on five hits. Only two of the runs were earned, and he struck out two batters. He is 1-1 on the season. Senior Brian Kappel came in for the save. He allowed two runs on two hits and a walk.
The two teams complete their three-game series tomorrow at 1 p.m.