Baseball: Tigers fall to Jersey rivals

The Tigers (7-6 overall) looked good in the first inning, as junior pitcher Langford Stuber struck out the first batter he saw, and the infield scooped up a double play to end the inning. The Scarlet Knights (9-11) were equally effective on defense, however, striking out two and easily snagging an infield fly from sophomore infielder Greg Van Horn.

The story was the same in the top of the second, as Rutgers sent three to the plate and Princeton sent them back to the dugout.

In the bottom of the second, junior catcher Jack Murphy was the first Tiger to get on base, singling to right field. Though he advanced to second on a wild pitch, he was left on base on two fly balls and a groundout.

The Scarlet Knights began to take control of the game in the third inning. After leadoff hitter and outfielder Jarred Jimenez singled through the left side and infielder Brandon Boykin singled to second base on a bunt, infielder Jaren Matthews’ double to centerfield was good for two RBI and a 2-0 lead at the end of the inning.

Rutgers kept its momentum going, as Princeton went three up, three down in the bottom of the third.

The Tigers dug themselves into a bigger hole in the fourth inning. The Scarlet Knights drove in four runs on two hits, a Princeton error and three hit batsmen.

Princeton rebounded in the sixth inning, cutting Rutgers’ lead to 6-3. The Tigers loaded the bases with no outs behind a single from senior outfielder Derek Beckman and walks to senior infielder Dan DeGeorge and Van Horn.

A sacrifice fly from Murphy scored Beckman, and a single from junior outfielder Brian Berkowitz plated DeGeorge and Van Horn.

Princeton and Rutgers traded pairs of runs in the seventh inning. In the top of the inning, Rutgers drove in two runs off a triple and two doubles. The Tigers followed suit, however, scoring one run on an error and plating one on a Van Horn single.

Down 8-5 with one inning left, the Tigers desperately needed to hold the Scarlet Knights scoreless. Rutgers came out firing, though, and it extended its lead to five runs in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch. While the Tigers countered with two runs of their own on a two-run double from Van Horn in the bottom of the frame, it wasn’t enough.

“[Rutgers] got out to a quick start,” junior outfielder Jon Broscious said. “But we came back and swung the bats pretty well. We kind of made a comeback in the ninth inning, but it ended up being 10-7.”

Rutgers starter Kyle Bradley earned the win, allowing three runs on three hits in five innings.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The loss went to Stuber, who is now 2-1, while Van Horn had two hits and drove in three runs in the loss.

The loss brings Princeton to 7-6 as the Tigers look to the start of their Ivy League season this weekend with a doubleheader against Yale on Saturday.

Broscious said he is confident that with their promising pitching rotation and hitting talent, the Tigers can fare well in the Ivy League this year.

“We have a good core of starting pitchers that can hopefully shut down a lot of the Ivy League [hitting] rotations,” Broscious said. “We have the best starting pitching Princeton has seen since about five years ago, according to our coach. And everyone in our lineup is capable of hitting over .300. We just need to get off to a stronger start ... With our starting pitching as strong as it is and with a deep lineup, it looks like we should be shaping up well.”

If Princeton can swing the bat well against its Ancient Eight opponents, it could be the start to a promising slate of games.