.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Darkness Prevails as Princeton and Rutgers Tie in Baseball
March 29, 2006 | Baseball
March 29, 2006
Box Score
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Darkness was the only winner on Wednesday afternoon in Piscataway as the Princeton baseball team and Rutgers played to a 3-3 tie in 11 innings at the Class of '52 Complex. Princeton jumped to a 3-0 lead through six innings, but Rutgers scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and neither team could score in two extra innings before the umpires called the game for darkness and it finished as a 3-3 tie.
Rutgers threatened in the first as the Scarlet Knights had three singles in the inning, but senior catcher Zach Wendkos threw out the leadoff batter trying to steal second and freshman starter Brad Gemberling got a pair of popups to end the inning.
Princeton scored the first two runs of the game with a pair of runs in the third inning. The Tigers had put on their leadoff batters in both the first and second innings, but it was not until the third inning that the Tigers were able to turn a leadoff runner into runs on the scoreboard.
In the inning, senior Stephen Wendell doubled to the gap in left center and went to third on sophomore Spencer Lucian groundball through the left side. Wendell scored on a sac fly by freshman Derek Beckman, and after stealing second, Lucian scored when freshman Dan Degeorge tripled to the corner in right field and Princeton led 2-0 after three. Rutgers threatened again in the fifth inning with a lead off single. Jason Downey tried to sac bunt him over but was able to turn that into a hit. A sac bunt moved both runners, but a foul out and running catch in left center by Beckman ended the inning.
The Tigers added a run in the sixth inning to push their lead to 3-0. Junior Aaron Prince drew a leadoff walk and after stealing second, made it to third when senior Zach Wendkos dropped a single in shallow center field. Rutgers got the second out of the inning, but the run scored for Princeton when sophomore Micah Kaplan lined the first pitch he faced into center field to score Prince and put Princeton up by three runs.
Princeton had a chance to pad its lead in the eighth inning as Prince hit a one-out single to center field and a double that one-hopped the right-field wall put runners on second and third, but a pair of fielder's choice got Rutgers out of the inning.
Rutgers took advantage of getting out of the inning and scored three in the bottom half to knot the score at 3-3. Todd Frazier drew a leadoff walk and a single by Ryan Hill put two on. A wild pitch pushed the runners over and they both scored when Steve Hook doubled to the corner in right field. Hook scored the equalizing run when Tim Querns singled up the middle.
Rutgers had base-runners in both the ninth and 10th innings, but in the ninth, Victor Cegles lined into a double play and Frazier was thrown out trying to steal second. In the 10th, Rutgers had two on with two outs but a fly ball to right field ended the threat.
Seven Princeton pitchers appeared in the game. Gemberling and sophomores Evan Alexander and Reid Peyton each pitched two scoreless inning. Junior Gavin Fabian had a scoreless seventh, while junior Michael Zaret allowed all three runs. Sophomore Steven Miller went two-and-a-third, while sophomore Christian Staehely pitched a scoreless 11th inning.
Princeton is now 4-11-1 on the season and will begin its Ivy schedule on Saturday with a doubleheader against Harvard at 11:30 a.m.