Wednesday, April 20
Piscataway, NJ
3:00 PM
Princeton University
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Rutgers
31-7
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9
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Princeton
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Rutgers
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Photo by: Dierdre DeAngelis-D''Alessio
Baseball Rallies to Defeat No. 8 Rutgers, 9-7
April 20, 2022 | Baseball
Piscataway, N.J. — Courtesy of an incredible relief appearance by Reece Rabin and some clutch hitting from Matt Scannell, Princeton defeated No. 8 Rutgers, 9-7. The win was Princeton's first against a ranked opponent since a 4-2 victory against No. 22 St. John's in 2017.
Rabin was a major player in Princeton's victory, pitching the game's final 5.2 innings. When he entered the game in the fourth inning, Rutgers had just scored its sixth run of the frame to give it a 7-6 lead. In those final 5.2 innings, Rabin allowed just one Rutgers runner to reach base—a lone hit in the bottom of the sixth—while striking out three batters. He managed four 1-2-3 innings, including a clean sheet in the game's final three stanzas. With the showing, he earned his first win of the season and fourth as a Tiger.
Princeton's bats also showed up big today. The Tigers managed 11 hits with five different batters—Brendan Cumming, Noah Granet, Scannell, Nick DiPietrantonio, and Eric Marasheski—tallying two knocks.
Five Princeton batters also contributed at least one RBI, with Nadir Lewis, Scannell, DiPietrantonio, Carlos Abello, and Jordan Kelly all plating a teammate. Scannell led the way with four RBI, including a game-winning two-run double in the top of the ninth. He and Lewis both lead the team with 31 RBI on the season.
Rutgers entered the matchup ranked No. 8 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 21 by Perfect Game, and No. 26 in the NCAA Coaches Poll. The Tigers' ended its 18-game winning streak this afternoon, the longest active winning streak by an NCAA Division I baseball team heading into today's game.
How It Happened
The Tigers burst out of the gates, with Scannell smacking a two-run homer to center field for an early, 2-0 lead in the first inning.
After Scannell quickly retired Rutgers in the bottom of the first, Princeton continued to roll in the game's second stanza. Following a leadoff double by DiPietrantonio, Abello drove in Princeton's third run of the afternoon with an RBI single up the middle.
Marasheski moved two Tigers into scoring position with a double down the left-field line, then Abello scored after an infield error by the hosts to make it a 4-0 ballgame. Lewis then plated Marasheski with a grounder to the shortstop, and Kelly scored from third on a wild pitch for a big, 6-0 Princeton lead through two.
Rutgers got on the board in the third with a solo home run. This would eventually become the catalyst for a six-run fourth inning which gave the hosts a 7-6 lead.
Then, in came Rabin. The Princeton reliever completely shut down a Rutgers offense which had all of the momentum with 5.2 innings of scoreless relief which saw him allow one hit with three strikeouts and no walks.
Princeton's bats struggled to give Rabin the run support he needed until the game's penultimate inning. Ahead with a 3-1 count in the top of the eighth, DiPietrantonio crushed a solo shot to left-center to tie the game at 7-7.
Another clean inning for Rabin in the bottom of the eighth sent it to the final frame. With Tigers on first and second with two outs, Scannell smacked a two-run double into the gap in left-center to put Princeton on top, 9-7. A quick, 1-2-3 inning for Rabin capped off the comeback and sealed a big win for the Tigers over their in-state rival, Rutgers.
Princeton will look to ride this momentum as it welcomes Harvard to Clarke Field for another weekend of Ivy League baseball starting on Saturday, April 23 at 11:30 a.m.
Rabin was a major player in Princeton's victory, pitching the game's final 5.2 innings. When he entered the game in the fourth inning, Rutgers had just scored its sixth run of the frame to give it a 7-6 lead. In those final 5.2 innings, Rabin allowed just one Rutgers runner to reach base—a lone hit in the bottom of the sixth—while striking out three batters. He managed four 1-2-3 innings, including a clean sheet in the game's final three stanzas. With the showing, he earned his first win of the season and fourth as a Tiger.
Princeton's bats also showed up big today. The Tigers managed 11 hits with five different batters—Brendan Cumming, Noah Granet, Scannell, Nick DiPietrantonio, and Eric Marasheski—tallying two knocks.
Five Princeton batters also contributed at least one RBI, with Nadir Lewis, Scannell, DiPietrantonio, Carlos Abello, and Jordan Kelly all plating a teammate. Scannell led the way with four RBI, including a game-winning two-run double in the top of the ninth. He and Lewis both lead the team with 31 RBI on the season.
Rutgers entered the matchup ranked No. 8 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 21 by Perfect Game, and No. 26 in the NCAA Coaches Poll. The Tigers' ended its 18-game winning streak this afternoon, the longest active winning streak by an NCAA Division I baseball team heading into today's game.
How It Happened
The Tigers burst out of the gates, with Scannell smacking a two-run homer to center field for an early, 2-0 lead in the first inning.
After Scannell quickly retired Rutgers in the bottom of the first, Princeton continued to roll in the game's second stanza. Following a leadoff double by DiPietrantonio, Abello drove in Princeton's third run of the afternoon with an RBI single up the middle.
Marasheski moved two Tigers into scoring position with a double down the left-field line, then Abello scored after an infield error by the hosts to make it a 4-0 ballgame. Lewis then plated Marasheski with a grounder to the shortstop, and Kelly scored from third on a wild pitch for a big, 6-0 Princeton lead through two.
Rutgers got on the board in the third with a solo home run. This would eventually become the catalyst for a six-run fourth inning which gave the hosts a 7-6 lead.
Then, in came Rabin. The Princeton reliever completely shut down a Rutgers offense which had all of the momentum with 5.2 innings of scoreless relief which saw him allow one hit with three strikeouts and no walks.
Princeton's bats struggled to give Rabin the run support he needed until the game's penultimate inning. Ahead with a 3-1 count in the top of the eighth, DiPietrantonio crushed a solo shot to left-center to tie the game at 7-7.
Another clean inning for Rabin in the bottom of the eighth sent it to the final frame. With Tigers on first and second with two outs, Scannell smacked a two-run double into the gap in left-center to put Princeton on top, 9-7. A quick, 1-2-3 inning for Rabin capped off the comeback and sealed a big win for the Tigers over their in-state rival, Rutgers.
Princeton will look to ride this momentum as it welcomes Harvard to Clarke Field for another weekend of Ivy League baseball starting on Saturday, April 23 at 11:30 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Rabin, Reece (1-3)
L: French, Garrett (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Scannell, Matt 1 ; DiPietrantonio, Nick 1 ; Marasheski, Eric 1
HR: Scannell, Matt 1 ; DiPietrantonio, Nick 1
RBI: Lewis, Nadir 1 ; Scannell, Matt 4 ; DiPietrantonio, Nick 1 ; Abello, Carlos 1 ; Kelly, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cumming, Brendan 1 ; Granet, Noah 2 ; Scannell, Matt 1 ; DiPietrantonio, Nick 2 ; Abello, Carlos 1 ; Marasheski, Eric 1 ; Kelly, Jordan 1
HBP: Granet, Noah 1
Batting:
2B: Lasko, Ryan 1 ; DiGeorgio, Danny 1 ; Santa Maria, Tony 1 ; Brito, Chris 1 ; Kuroda-Grauer, Josh 1
HR: Lasko, Ryan 1
RBI: Lasko, Ryan 1 ; Santa Maria, Tony 2 ; Brito, Chris 2
SH: Shockley, Jason 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lasko, Ryan 2 ; DiGeorgio, Danny 1 ; Santa Maria, Tony 1 ; Kuroda-Grauer, Josh 1 ; Sweeney, Jordan 1 ; Nyisztor, Mike 1
HBP: Lasko, Ryan 1 ; DiGeorgio, Danny 2
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
p/dh
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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