Published: July 02, 2009 03:55 pm      

Princeton captures wins in first two series

PRINCETON — The Princeton Rays won their first two series of the season to get off to a quick start.

They opened the year taking two of three games from Burlington at home on June 23-25. Then, they travelled to Bristol and won two of the three games during the June 26-28 period.

Three of the games extended into extra innings, and the Rays were victorious in all of them. Their record in one-run games is an impressive 3-1.



Rays—2, Burlington—1 (10 innings)

The Rays started the season with an exciting win over Burlington. In the 10th inning, Brian Bryles tripled and scored the winning run on Kyle Spraker's safety squeeze bunt.

Spraker's single drove in Bryles in the third inning to account for the first Princeton score. For the evening, Bryles had three hits while Spraker, Ramon Novas, and Alejandro Torres each had two hits.

Jason McEachern and knuckleballer Joey Callender were effective on the mound. McEachern tossed five scoreless innings while Callender, the winning pitcher, allowed one run in five innings of work.



Burlington—4, Rays—3

Princeton's ninth-inning rally fell short as the Royals handed Princeton their first setback of the season. Seth Henry, the smallest player on the team, blasted a home run and stroked a single to lead the Rays at the plate. Ty Morrison contributed two hits and a RBI. Geno Glynn drove in a run with a triple. Brian Bryles tripled and Ryan Wiegand doubled. Alejandro Torres added a single.



Rays—4, Burlington—3 (12 innings)

The Rays took the Burlington series with a thrilling marathon extra-inning victory. In the bottom of the 12th inning, Ryan Wiegand doubled and eventually scored on a wild pitch to win the game.

Julio Cedeno hammered three hits while Wiegand, Tomas Francisco, and Brian Bryles each had two hits to pace the Princeton attack. Also hitting safely were Daniel Rhault, Jason Patton, Ty Morrison, and David Wendt. Francisco and Rhault contributed RBIs.

In the first inning, starter Omar Bencomo yielded two runs on three consecutive base hits including two doubles. During the remainder of his six-inning stint, Bencomo knuckled down and hurled effectively. Relievers Deivas Mavarez and Matt Stabelfeld combined to pitch four scoreless innings.

With the pitching staff nearly depleted, Manager Jared Sandberg called on infielder Geno Glynn to take the mound. Glynn, who had pitched some at Minnesota State University, responded beautifully throwing a scoreless inning and recording the win.

Rays—7, Bristol—1

Princeton opened the Bristol series with a 7-1 drubbing of the home team. The Rays unleashed a 12-hit attack in route to the win. Ryan Wiegand collected three hits including a double. Kyle Spraker pounded out three hits and drove in a run. Ty Morrison recorded two hits including a triple and he had a run batted in. Seth Henry slashed a triple sending two teammates across the plate. Julio Cedeno, Daniel Rhault, and Brian Bryles also hit safely.

Starter Trevor Shull picked up the win holding Bristol to an unearned run in five innings. Tyler Oakes and James Hill combined to hurl four scoreless innings in relief.



Bristol—9, Rays—0

The White Sox gained revenge for their loss the previous evening with a 9-0 shellacking of the Rays. Bristol ripped 12 hits while allowing the Rays only three base knocks. Ryan Wiegand hit a single while Julio Cedeno and Ramon Novas slugged doubles to account for the Princeton offensive output. The Rays only serious scoring threat was in the fifth inning when they loaded the bases with one out, but they were unable.to punch any runs across the plate.

Rays—5, Bristol—4 (12 innings)

Princeton showed a lot of character in rebounding from the debacle the prior game in posting a hard-earned win over the home team. Catcher Tomas Francisco led the Rays to victory. He had three hits including a double, drove in two runs, and scored two runs. Francisco's single in the 12th inning scored Jason Patton with the winning run. Patton, Brian Bryles, Kyle Spraker, Cody Rogers, and Geno Glynn all collected singles. Glynn also had a run batted in. Seth Henry walked three times and scored twice.

Jason McEachern allowed one run in six innings on the mound. He struck out four batters and walked none. Jairo Delarosa, the third of three relief pitchers, picked up the win with two shutout innings.