Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Richmond (Game 1)
Baseball Drops Pair of One-Run Games in Season-Opening Doubleheader
March 06, 2005 | Baseball
March 6, 2005
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score
Richmond, Va. - The Princeton baseball team opened the 2005 season on Sunday by dropping a pair of one-run games at Richmond in a doubleheader at Pitt Field. In the opener the Tigers belted four home runs, but late struggles in the field allowed Richmond to rally for a 7-6 win. In Game 2, the Tigers outhit the Spiders, but dropped the game, 2-1.
In the opener, Princeton jumped to a 6-0 lead following the top of the sixth, but Richmond scored seven runs over its final three at-bats to rally for the win. Princeton had four hits in the game and all were home runs. The first came to lead off the second inning when junior Ryan Eldridge homered to right field. Two batters later, senior Paul Ackerman hit his first career home run, also to right field. The Tigers added three runs, all unearned, in the third inning. With one out, senior Adam Balkan walked. After a second out, junior Andrew Salini reached on an error. The next batter was Eldridge, who drilled a 0-1 pitch over the right-field wall.
Salini led off the sixth with a home run to center field to cap Princeton's scoring for the game. Richmond came right back in the bottom of the sixth to score its first runs of the game, as the Spiders plated four runs in the inning.
After an out, Vince Riggi reached on a dropped third strike. He advanced to third on a fielder's choice and throwing error that also allowed Alex Hale to reach second. Austin Reilly singled to score the first run, and then Drew Poiter reached on an error that scored Hale. A pair of walks then scored a run, and the final run came when Andrew Justice hit an infield single.
Richmond scored twice in the seventh to even the game at 6-6. Riggi led off with a double and went to third on Hale's single. Poiter doubled to score both runners and even the score up. The Spiders added the game-winning run in the eighth when Justice led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore Gavin Fabian started the game for Princeton and pitched four innings allowing just one hit. Sophomore Eric Walz came on in the fifth and allowed five runs in 2.1 innings. Seniors Worth Lumry and Brian Kappel also came on to pitch. Lumry took the loss, while Richmond reliever John Cronin earned the win.
Princeton outhit Richmond in the second game but fell by a score of 2-1. Richmond plated single runs in the third and fourth innings, while Princeton's run came in the sixth.
Richmond went up 1-0 when Justice doubled home Joe White in the third. An inning later, a single by Poiter scored Riggi to make it 2-0.
Princeton's run came when sophomore Aaron Prince led off the sixth with a single through the right side. After Richmond's pitcher got the next two outs, Salini walked to put runners on first and second. The next batter was Eldridge, who singled to center field to score Prince. The RBI was Eldridge's fifth RBI of the day.
Junior Erik Stiller started the game for Princeton and allowed two runs on six hits through four innings. Sophomore Wills Sweney pitched two perfect innings in relief. Richmond's Rob Berzinskas allowed a run on six hits to earn the win for the Spiders.
Princeton (0-2) resumes action on next Friday when the Tigers begin their Spring Break trip at William & Mary at 3 p.m.