Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Old Dominion
Five Home Runs Lifts Baseball to 18-1 Win at Old Dominion
March 20, 2005 | Baseball
March 20, 2005
Box Score
Norfolk, Va. - Senior Will Venable and junior Ryan Eldridge each hit two home runs as the Princeton baseball team defeated Old Dominion 18-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Bud Metheney Complex. Sophomore Sal Iacono also homered in the game, and junior Erik Stiller turned in a commanding performance on the mound, scattering a run on six hits in seven innings for the win.
Princeton plated 18 runs on 22 hits to improve to 2-9 on the season and win its second consecutive game. Old Dominion fell to 14-12 on the season as the Tigers earned their first series win of the year.
Princeton opened the game with three runs in the top of the first inning. After an out, Venable reached with a single to right field and scored when Iacono homered to left field for his first home run of the season to make it 2-0 and give Princeton a lead it would not relinquish. Junior Andrew Salini then reached with a lined single to left, moved to second on a walk and scored when senior Adam Balkan doubled over the head of Old Dominion's center fielder.
ODU got a run back in the bottom of the first. Evan Chipman bunted for a single and went to third on Bryan Cipolla's single through the right side. He scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Tyler Belcher.
From there, both starting pitchers settled in as they held each team off the board until the Tigers scored in the sixth inning. In that inning, junior Matthew Becker led off with a walk and advanced to third when sophomore Aaron Prince doubled off the left field wall. That put two runners on for Venable, who delivered by drilling a 3-1 pitch over the wall in center field for a three-run home run, his second homer of the year. The first two runs were charged to ODU starter Bryan Hansen, who pitched five innings and allowed five runs on nine hits. Reliever Needham Jones gave up the home run to Venable and pitched two-thirds of an inning allowing the one run on three hits. Steve Harris came in to get the final out of the inning.
Stiller pitched seven innings for the Tigers and allowed a run on six hits while striking out five and walking none. Sophomore Eric Walz pitched the final two innings and allowed a pair of infield hits.
The Tigers used a six-run seventh inning to break open the game and take a 12-1 lead. A one-out walk to junior Stephen Wendell and a single by Becker, his third of the game, put two on for Venable, who doubled home Wendell. Iacono drew a walk to load the bases and two runs scored when Salini singled to right field for his third single of the game. The scoring continued when the next batter, Eldridge, hit a line-drive home run to right field. The three-run shot was his fourth home run of the season.
The Tigers added another six runs in the eighth inning thanks to a pair of three-run homers. Back-to-back singles put Wendell and Becker on. They moved to second and third on a groundout and scored when Venable hit a towering homer to center field. It was his second homer of the game and his third of the season. The next batter was Iacono and he walked, then went to second on Salini's fourth single of the game. Both then scored when Eldridge hit an opposite-field home run. It was also his second longball of the game, and was his fifth of the season.
The game completed Princeton's nine-game Spring Break road trip. The Tigers are back in action on Friday when they host Stony Brook for a double header that begins at 11:30 a.m.