Tigers fall due to two big errors

Sophomore lefthander Langford Stuber (1-3) turned in one of his best starts of the season, allowing just one earned run over five innings, but his throwing error in the fourth inning gave the Red Storm a 3-1 lead after the Tigers had pulled to within a run. After St. John’s put runners on first and second with no outs, Stuber fielded a sacrifice bunt and fired to third base in an attempt to force out the lead runner. His throw sailed past senior third baseman Spencer Lucian, and the Red Storm’s Gil Zayas raced home with what would prove to be the game-winning run.

The Tigers had a chance to take control of the game in the top of the first inning, when the junior trio of leftfielder Derek Beckman, shortstop Dan DeGeorge and first baseman Adrian Turnham loaded the bases to lead off the game. St. John’s starter Ryan Cole buckled down from there, however, retiring Princeton’s 4-5-6 hitters in order to keep the Tigers off the board.

The game remained scoreless going into the bottom of the third inning, when the first of two Princeton errors on the day helped the Red Storm surge into the lead. With a runner on first, St. John’s leadoff hitter Scott Ferrara singled to the left side, and an errant throw to first by Lucian allowed the runners to advance to second and third. The next Red Storm batter, Gino Matias, plated both runners with a single that gave St. John’s a 2-0 lead.

In the next inning, the Tigers cut their deficit in half, getting to Cole for the first time since the opening frame. Having retired nine straight Princeton batters, including six by strikeout, Cole allowed a leadoff double to sophomore catcher Jack Murphy in the top of the fourth. Back-to-back groundouts by Lucian and sophomore centerfielder David Hale brought Murphy across the plate to make the score 2-1.

Stuber’s throwing error gave the Red Storm a 3-1 lead in the fourth, but the Tiger starter rebounded with a scoreless fifth to finish his five-hit, four-strikeout performance. Stuber was relieved in the sixth by freshman righthander Matt Welsh, who surrendered three walks and a triple in two-thirds of an inning as St. John’s went up 5-1.

Fellow freshman reliever David Palms relieved Welsh and was on the mound for the most unusual run of the evening. With two outs and runners on first and third, the Red Storm successfully executed a rare double-steal of second and home, with Carlos Del Rosario breaking for the plate as teammate Joe Witkowski drew Murphy’s throw to second base.

With his team trailing 6-1, Palms pitched a scoreless seventh inning, lowering his season ERA to 3.51, tops on the Tigers.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Tigers put another run on the board, and once again it was Murphy reaching base and Hale driving him home. After drawing a two-out walk, Murphy advanced to second on an infield single by Lucian and scored when Hale drove a single through the right side of the infield. The hit brought Hale’s batting average to .300 for the season, behind only Lucian and Murphy on the Princeton leaderboard.

After freshman righthander Matt Grabowski pitched a perfect eighth, the Tigers went down quietly in the ninth to end the game. Though Princeton matched St. John’s with seven hits on the day, defensive lapses and a lack of timely hitting doomed the Tigers to their third-straight loss.

Princeton returns to Ivy League play against Gehrig Division rival Cornell this weekend, with a road doubleheader Friday followed by a pair of games at Clarke Field on Sunday afternoon.