Princeton pummels Pirates

The quintessential spring day consists of a warm temperature, a clear sunny sky and a low-pressure baseball game in the afternoon. Tuesday at Princeton contained all of those elements, as the baseball team cruised to an easy 10-0 victory over Seton Hall before a crowd of 270 at Clarke Field.

The Tigers (11-15 overall, 5-3 Ivy League) jumped out to an early lead over the Pirates (8-20) and continued to pour on the offense in a midweek matchup of little importance to either team; however, Princeton played with a level of intensity that belied the game's lack of pressure.

Perhaps the most surprising contribution came from came from sophomore starting pitcher Wills Sweney, who allowed only two hits and no runs in seven innings of work to earn the victory.

"Wills was really the difference out there," head coach Scott Bradley said. "Here's a guy who had limited pitching experience in high school and who has been a little inconsistent, and he comes out with a strong outing like this which really showed what he is capable of."

Perhaps less surprising is the production of the core of Princeton's offensive lineup: senior centerfielder Will Venable, junior rightfielder Andrew Salini and junior designated hitter Ryan Eldridge, who combined for six hits and four runs batted in on the day.

"We are a good hitting team, and these guys lead the offense," Bradley said. "We saw some different looks with some off-speed pitchers today and it made no real difference."

Early lead

The Tigers struck first in the bottom of the first inning largely due to their offensive core. Sophomore second baseman Aaron Prince drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a single by Venable. Salini then drove him in with a sacrifice fly to right, before Eldridge banged a double off the rightfield wall — missing a homerun by just a few feet — scoring Venable.

The score would hold up until the bottom of the fifth, and in the meantime the Pirates would miss their best scoring chance of the game in the top of that inning.

After first baseman Mark Pappas walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, centerfielder Dan Lopez reached first on an infield hit when both Sweney and Tiger first baseman Stephen Wendell tried to field the ball, leaving no one covering first base. The blunder gave the Pirates runners on the corners with only one out.

The next batter, catcher Mike Morano, unsuccessfully attempted a squeeze play, leaving Pappas hung out to dry between home and third, where he was subsequently tagged out. Morano then feebly popped out to third to end the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, the Tigers broke the game open against Seton Hall pitcher Pete Vandenbout, who had come into the game in the bottom of the second for starter Mark Irwin. After Salini and senior leftfielder Adam Balkan both singled, sophomore catcher Sal Iacono cranked a ball to deep right-center, resulting in a stand-up triple and two RBIs. He was then driven in on a sac fly by junior third baseman Zach Wendkos.

The Tigers continued to pour it on in the following inning, scoring four runs on six hits, including an RBI triple by Venable and an RBI double by Iacono.