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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Columbia (Game 1)
Baseball Completes Four-Game Sweep of Columbia
April 16, 2006 | Baseball
April 16, 2006
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
NEW YORK - Princeton starting pitchers Michael Zaret and Christian Staehely combined to strike out 22 batters as the Princeton baseball team completed a four-game weekend sweep at Columbia with two wins on Sunday. Princeton took the opener 8-0 and the nightcap 11-2. Juniors Aaron Prince and Sal Iacono and sophomore Spencer Lucian had four hits on the day and senior Andrew Salini drove in five batters.
The Princeton pitching staff set the tone for the weekend as Princeton's starters went 4-0. The staff combined to allowed just two earned runs in 34 innings if work. Princeton's ERA for the weekend was 0.53 and Princeton pitchers struck out 40 Columbia batters. The wins, coupled with Cornell's split at Penn, give Princeton a one-game lead in the Gehrig Division standings.
GAME 1
After getting five of the first six outs of the game on strikeouts, Zaret got all the run support he would need in the third inning as he picked up his second win of the season and combined in shutting out Columbia 8-0. Zaret punched out 10 batters in the game, while scattering two hits in six innings. Lucian began Princeton's two-run third inning with a double that landed in the warning track in right field and made it to third when the Columbia right fielder missed the cut-off man. He scored the first run of the game a batter later when freshman Derek Beckman hit a sac fly to right field. Princeton continued the inning when freshman Dan Degeorge lined to the gap in left center and he scored when Prince beat out an infield single, where the ball was thrown away.
The Tigers added to their lead with four runs in the fifth inning. Beckman drew a one-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and after stealing second, scored on DeGeorge's second double of the game. After DeGeorge stole third, he scored when Prince tripled to the corner in right field. Prince then scored on a fielder's choice ground ball hit by Salini and Salini scored when junior Sal Iacono doubled to center field.
Princeton closed out the scoring in the sixth inning when Lucian hit a one-out triple down the right field line and scored on a Prince single. DeGeorge, who had walked in between Lucian and Prince, later scored on a Salini single.
GAME 2
Staehely got all the run support he needed in the first inning of Game 2 as the Tigers scored three times in the opening inning as Columbia starter Dan Bajger struggled with control. DeGeorge led off the game when he was pluncked with a pitch. A sac bunt pushed him to second, where he stood when Salini was hit to put two runners on. Senior Zach Wendkos singled to right field to score DeGeorge and the runners advanced to second and third on the throw. Both runners scored on successive wild pitches as Princeton took the 3-0 lead with one hit in the inning.
Columbia chipped a run off the lead in the second inning by scoring its first earned run of the weekend. Henry Perkins singled up the middle and went to third on a failed pickoff attempt. He scored when Noah Cooper tripled. The run was the first allowed by a Princeton starter on the weekend. Princeton regained the three-run edge in the third inning when Salini's sac fly drove in Prince, who had tripled down the right field line.
Princeton pushed its lead to 6-2 in the seventh inning. Salini singled and Iacono was hit to put a pair on base for senior Stephen Wendell, who answered with a double out of the reach of the right fielder to score both runs. Columbia got another run back in the bottom of the inning on a single by Cooper.
Princeton blew the game open late with two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth for the 11-2 final. In the eighth, Beckman reached on an error and went to second on a DeGeorge single. Another error with Prince at bat loaded the bases for Salini, whose single to right field drove home two runs.
Princeton finished the game with three runs in the ninth. Iacono led off with a single and a single by freshman Adrian Turnham put two aboard. Iacono scored on a Lucian single and Turnham and Lucian both scored when Beckman doubled down the left field line, for his first extra-base hit of the season.
Staehely improved to 2-1 with the win and made it four wins for the Princeton starting pitchers this weekend. He struck out a career high 12 batters as he allowed two runs on eight hits. Sophomore Steven Miller struck out three in two innings of relief.
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The weekend sweep moved Princeton to 7-19-1 overall and 5-7 in the Ivy League and move Princeton's win streak to five games. Princeton plays at Seton Hall on Tuesday afternoon.