Baseball: Defense falters at Rutgers

The Tigers (7-16 overall, 2-3 Ivy League) out-hit the Scarlet Knights (15-11), racking up 11 hits to the home team’s 10. But three costly Princeton errors led to seven unearned runs, enabling the Scarlet Knights to coast to a 10-2 victory.

Princeton opened the game well, scoring two runs off lefthander Dennis Hill in the first inning. Senior second baseman Noel Gonzales-Luna, who has the best batting average on the team, reached base with a single to right field, and senior designated hitter Brian Berkowitz drew a four-pitch walk. With two outs, senior right fielder Jon Broscious plated Gonzales-Luna with a single to left field. Freshman first baseman John Mishu followed with another base hit, allowing Berkowitz to score.

But the Scarlet Knights got both those runs back and more. Freshman starter Kevin Link allowed a two-strike home run to leadoff hitter Michael Lang in the bottom of the first. Link nearly escaped without further damage, inducing a two-out grounder to freshman shortstop Matt Bowman with two runners on base, but the rookie couldn’t field the ball cleanly. A walk, a triple and another home run later, Rutgers had taken a 7-2 lead.

“We had a little trouble with the turf in the first inning,” Broscious said. “Balls were bouncing off the turf [which was] rough for the infielders, who weren’t really used to [the turf]. They made adjustments after that first inning, but we didn’t come out extremely focused.”

Hill proceeded to shut down the Tiger bats, holding the visitors scoreless for six innings. Princeton managed six hits and advanced five runners into scoring position in that span, but the Orange and Black could not push a run across.

Rutgers added three insurance runs in the fourth inning, again taking advantage of some Tiger miscues. Freshman left fielder Nate Baird misplayed a base hit by Pat Biserta, and junior Matt Grabowski threw a wild pitch later in the frame, allowing second baseman Steve Nyisztor to advance. Grabowski got two outs, but a throwing error by Gonzales-Luna on a double steal allowed a third run to cross the plate.

Princeton’s defense tightened up after the fourth inning, as the Tigers played error-free ball and held the Scarlet Knights scoreless. The offense continued to put runners on base but could not bring them around. The Tigers had one final scoring chance in the eighth inning, when singles by freshman Alex Flink and Baird put runners on the corners, but Bowman fouled out to end the rally.

“We hit a lot of singles today,” Broscious said. “The freshmen swung the bats very well, and we’re looking for big things from them. We’ve got a solid group of nine guys now who we expect to hit well this weekend.”

The Tigers received encouraging play from their rookie hitters. Bowman, Flink and Baird went a combined 7-for-13 at the plate with two stolen bases, while Mishu added an RBI single. Rutgers also enjoyed a strong performance from a freshman, as Nyisztor went 3-for-4, upping his team-leading batting average to .384.

“[The freshmen] are all coming around,” junior reliever Chad Ohlendorf said. “Bowman’s hit the ball well all year and, Baird, especially, hit well today ... It’s definitely going to help us going forward in the Ivy League.”

Rutgers is enjoying a strong season, boasting a 5-1 record in Big East play. The Scarlet Knights won eight consecutive games earlier this season, including a pair of victories over then-No. 24 Pittsburgh.

Princeton will need its defense to be solid when it resumes Ivy League play this weekend. The Tigers will play a pair of doubleheaders on the road, visiting Brown on Saturday and Yale on Sunday.