Baseball Dealt Narrow Defeats in Doubleheader Against Purdue
Holly Springs, N.C. – Princeton closed out its season-opening series against Purdue with a pair of narrow defeats in the weekend’s second doubleheader.
Nadir Lewis’ bat stayed hot, going 5-for-8 in Saturday’s doubleheader, bringing his batting average to 0.500 through the season’s first weekend. He had at least one hit in each game against Purdue, and reached base on four of his five plate appearances in the series finale.
Saturday also saw a plethora of Princeton pitchers make their debuts, with Tom Chmielewski, Eric Hoefer, Andrew D’Alessio, and Richard Ferrer-Westrop each commanding the mound for the first time in Orange and Black. Caden Shapiro and Matt Scannell, who each played in three of Princeton’s four games against Purdue, also made appearances on the mound in game four.
Game 1
For the second consecutive game, Princeton opened the scoring. In the top of the fourth, the Tigers loaded the bases with a single, a fielding error, and a walk. Scannell tallied his first collegiate RBI, taking a pitch to the shoulder and plating Nick DiPietrantonio.
Purdue responded with the game’s next three runs, tying the contest with an RBI single in the fifth before taking its first lead with a pair of runs in the sixth stanza to make it a 3-1 ballgame.
With their backs against the wall, the Tigers clawed their way back to tie the game in the top of the ninth. Cumming was the catalyst in the late rally, leading off with a double to right-center. Noah Granet sent him home after an infield single and a throwing error from the Purdue shortstop. Lewis then came in clutch and tied the game at 3-3 on a rope to right-center.
However, with a runner on first, a full count, and two outs, the Boilermakers had the final say in the contest, ending the game on an RBI-double to left field.
Game 2
The hosts jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first with a two-run double. Purdue extended its lead with a solo home run and a sac fly to make it 4-0 after four innings.
The resilient Tigers wouldn’t go out without a fight, however. After opening the fifth inning with a leadoff triple, Jordan Kelly put Princeton on the board, scoring from a sac fly by Shapiro. The momentum continued to sway in the Tigers’ direction with a pair of runs in the sixth to cut the deficit to one.
A leadoff walk from Scott Bandura and a single through the gap from Lewis placed Tigers on the corners. Scannell plated the second run with a single through the right side before a wild pitch brought Lewis home to make it 4-3.
Princeton brought the game back to a deadlock in the eighth inning. Following singles from Shapiro and Carlos Abello, Alejandro Espinel knotted the game at 4-4 with an RBI-single past the shortstop.
Despite Princeton’s resilience, Purdue would once again have the final word as it clinched a series sweep with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.
Princeton returns to action on Saturday, March 5 at 2 p.m. for a meeting with VCU.
