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Baseball comes back in eighth to defeat UConn

During its 2-7 Spring Break trip, the baseball team did not get the big hits when they mattered the most. Yesterday afternoon at Clarke Field, that problem was solved.

Down 6-3 to Connecticut in the bottom of the eighth, the heart of the Tiger lineup came through in the clutch with four runs, securing a 7-6 Princeton victory.

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Right fielder Max Krance, designated hitter Casey Hildreth and first baseman Eric Voelker — Princeton's 4-, 5- and 6-hitters — each had two runs batted in to lead the Tigers to victory.

The eighth inning began with leadoff hitter sophomore Mark Grayson beating the throw from third base for an infield single and sophomore Pat Boran following with a walk. What happened next was the strangest play of the afternoon.

Junior first baseman Andrew Hanson hit a long line drive to center field. Grayson, trying to score from second, seemed to be beaten by the tag and the home plate umpire apparently called him out. After a short consultation with Princeton coach Scott Bradley, the call was reversed and the run counted.

Krance followed the madness with a sacrifice to bring the Tigers within one run. Hildreth blooped a single into center field to tie the score and drive UConn freshman Erik Drown out of the game. He was replaced by classmate Peter Soteropulos.

Princeton, however, remained in control of the game. Voelker drove in junior Jon Watterson, who was brought in as a pinch runner for Hildreth, with a double to deep right field, giving Princeton its final margin of victory.

Behind the solid pitching of Chris Higgins, the Tigers were in control until the sixth inning. In his first five innings of work, Higgins had given up only four hits and had not allowed a runner in scoring position.

Turnaround

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Everything fell apart in a hurry in the sixth inning. The Huskies tagged Higgins for back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. After senior catcher Buster Small picked off a runner at third, Higgins walked the next two batters to load the bases with one out.

Then Connecticut senior Brian Packin made him pay. Entering the game with only a .196 batting average in 12 games played, the first baseman parked a Higgins delivery over the left field fence, giving the Huskies a 4-3 lead.

The Huskies got two more runs in the top of the seventh off sophomore Nick Pappas and senior Jay Tedman to make the score 6-3.

Over Spring Break, this was when the Tigers' bats usually got very quiet. And with Drown in command, it seemed the Tigers were headed for their sixth straight loss. Then came the eighth inning explosion and a victory for Princeton.

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In the ninth, Bradley handed over the game to freshman David Boehle, who retired the Huskies in order. Despite Higgins' six solid innings of work, the victory went to freshman Mark Siano, who pitched a perfect eighth inning.

Bradley got everything he could have wanted out of Thursday afternoon. He used five pitchers in preparation for back-to-back doubleheaders this weekend at St. Joseph's and Delaware.

Bradley will continue to work the rotation this weekend. Sophomore Tom Rowland and freshman Ryan Quillian with throw on Saturday, with senior Jason Quintana and sophomore Tommy Crenshaw going on Sunday. Sophomore Chris Young will most likely see his first action of the season, following up Crenshaw in relief.

Freshman Scott Hindman is still bothered by his elbow and will sit out the weekend.