Baseball: Late rally drops Princeton

For five innings at St. John’s on Tuesday night, everything was going right for the baseball team. Senior righthander Ross Staine was shutting out the Red Storm in his first start of the season, the defense was playing well, and the offense was getting hits. The Tigers, underdogs heading into the game, were well on their way to an upset.

But late in the game, everything fell apart for Princeton (9-24 overall, 4-8 Ivy League). St John’s (22-12) revived its offense, taking advantage of five errors and three wild pitches. The Red Storm scored 11 runs on 10 hits in the final two innings to pull away for a 12-5 victory.

The Tigers have had trouble preventing runs in their midweek matchups this season. They allowed 10 runs on a Tuesday at Rutgers earlier in the month, and they gave up 24 runs in seven innings to Monmouth last week. But Princeton found the right pitcher in Staine, who tossed a quality start against a solid Big East offense.

Staine entered the game an unlikely hero. The senior boasted a 9.26 ERA and a 2.05 walks-plus-hits per inning before the contest began, and he had never thrown more than three innings in one outing in his career. But he frustrated the Red Storm, holding the hosts scoreless through five innings and allowing just two hits in the process. Three runners entered scoring position with two outs, but each time the righty escaped without damage.

As has often been the case this season, Princeton struggled to bring runners home early on. Four Tigers reached base in the third inning, but the visitors still could not manage a run. Sophomore shortstop Andrew Whitener was thrown out trying to advance to third with no outs, and senior designated hitter Brian Berkowitz grounded out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

The Orange and Black finally broke through in the top of the fourth inning. Freshman outfielder Nate Baird led off the inning with a single, and junior third baseman Matt Connor followed with a walk. A productive out by freshman first baseman Steve Harrington advanced the runners into scoring position, enabling them to score on a wild pitch and a Whitener ground ball.

Princeton doubled its lead in the following inning. Sophomore catcher Sam Mulroy kept up his hot streak, hitting a home run to left field that drove in senior second baseman Noel Gonzales-Luna. The blast marked Mulroy’s fourth dinger in the last six games.

St. John’s finally managed a run in the sixth inning when the Tiger defense faltered. Princeton committed three errors in the inning, enabling shortstop Joe Panik to reach base and score. But Staine was able to pitch out of trouble, inducing a flyout from Sean O’Hare to end the inning. The Tigers got the run right back on a John Mishu home run in the seventh.

But the Red Storm bats finally picked up in their half of the frame. St. John’s ripped a pair of hits off Staine to open the inning, and head coach Scott Bradley called on sophomore reliever Ryan Makis to pitch out of the jam. But outfielder Jimmy Brennan doubled to right field, cutting the Tiger lead to two runs. After a Whitener miscue allowed another runner to reach base, Panik singled home Brennan, and designated hitter Jeremy Baltz brought home two more runs with a base hit of his own. By the time the damage was done, the Red Storm had taken a 7-5 lead.

St. John’s tagged Makis for five insurance runs in its half of the eighth inning, earning three walks and stroking four singles. Meanwhile, the Tiger bats went down quietly in their half of the eighth and ninth innings, sealing Princeton’s fourth consecutive non-league loss.

The Tigers’ defense has been increasingly worrisome recently. Princeton has committed 17 errors in its last six games, a shocking total for a unit that the team saw as one of its strengths before the season. The Tigers will look to avoid giving away outs in a four-game series at home against Penn next weekend.