Princeton University Athletics
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Baseball Meets Holy Cross and VCU to Open Spring Break at Terry Sisisky Classic
March 11, 2011 | Baseball
Princeton opened the season last weekend with a three-game series at seventh-ranked LSU. Princeton hung tough in losses on Friday and Saturday before edging the hosts 8-7 in Sunday's series finale. Several Tigers turned in strong performances on the mound led by Kevin Link's four no-hit innings of relief on Saturday. David Palms also turned in four shutout innings, tossing three on Friday and earning the save with an inning on Sunday. Zak Hermans allowed a single unearned runs in four innings in Sunday's start.
John Mishu, Mike Ford and Nate Baird all had three hits for the Tigers over the weekend. Ford had a team-high five RBIs over the weekend and his double on Sunday was Princeton's lone extra-base hit of the weekend to go along with 15 singles. Mishu led the team with three runs scored, while Baird drove in three, scored two and swiped a base. As a team, Princeton hit .163 last weekend while its pitchers threw to a 5.40 ERA.
This weekend the Tigers start their Spring Break trip in Richmond, Virginia against both Holy Cross and Virginia Commonwealth. The rest of the week includes stops at UNC Greensboro, North Carolina, North Carolina A&T and a three-game series at Georgetown.
Princeton will face Holy Cross in its first two games at the Terry Sisisky Classic. Princeton is 9-13-1 all-time against Holy Cross, but the teams haven't met since 1940. The Crusaders are currently 2-6 this season and will face VCU on Friday afternoon. Like Princeton, Holy Cross opened its season with a three-game series at LSU and was swept, surrendering 12 or more runs in all three games. Holy Cross then picked up with over Villanova and St. Joseph's, but has lost its last three games entering this weekend, falling at UNC Wilmington and Gardner-Webb twice.
Holy Cross has three batters hitting above .300, led by Alex Maldonado's .389 average. He also leads the team with nine runs scored. Eric Oxford leads the team with 10 RBIs and is batting .364. Holy Cross has a team ERA of 9.27. Southpaw John Pedrotty, who Princeton will face on Sunday, has a team-best 4.26 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched.
VCU is 4-7 overall entering the weekend and opens its weekend on Friday against Holy Cross. Princeton is 2-7 all-time against VCU and last face the Rams in 2004 when the teams split four games. The Rams have played three weekend series and have won once and lost twice in each of the three, and have split two midweek games. VCU went 1-2 at home in series against Fordham and Monmouth and had the same record in a series at Presbyterian. VCU also has a loss to Longwood and a win at Norfolk State.
The Rams are batting .254 as a team and are led by John Lenherr's .439 batting average. He is one of three players with five RBIs on the team. Paul Nice is also hitting north of .300 with a .318 average. VCU's pitching staff has been strong this season, pitching to a 3.82 ERA through 11 games played. All three of VCU's regular starters have ERAs below 4.75 and closer Jonathan Watson has a team-low 2.45 ERA in seven appearances with a win and two saves.
Series at a Glance
Site: The Diamond; Richmond, Va.
Records: Princeton (1-3), Holy Cross (2-6), VCU (4-7)
Pitching Matchups (Subject to Change)
Saturday vs. HC: RH Zak Hermans (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP) vs. RH Matt Croglio (1-1, 5.00, 9.0)
Sunday Gm 1 vs. HC: RH Matt Bowman (0-1, 3.00 ERA, 4.0 IP) vs. LH John Pedrotty (1-1, 4.26, 12.2)
Sunday Gm 2 vs. VCU: LH Michael Fagan (1-0, 13.50 ERA, 3.1 IP) vs. TBA
Monday vs. VCU: RH Mike Ford (0-1, 15.75 ERA, 4.0 IP) vs. TBA
MULTIMEDIA LINKS: Live Stats | Live Video (VCU Games Only)
Princeton Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats
Holy Cross Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats
VCU Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats