Cihocki, Tigers avenge loss to Bureau Valley

MANLIUS - The Princeton Tigers played a bad game against Bureau Valley on Monday.

You could call it a sloppy game as the Tigers committed four errors and issued nine walks, two hit batsmen and two wild pitches in losing to Bureau Valley by 10.

On Thursday, the Tigers put that game behind them, bouncing back to defeat the rival Storm 12-6 for the series split in Three Rivers East play.

The Tigers scored 12 runs on eight hits, helped by six Storm errors and seven walks, and rode the pitching of Danny Cihocki to improve to 5-5 overall (4-3, TRE).

PHS coach Wick Warren and senior outfielder Matt Lucas both said it was a good bounce-back win.

“Especially with the first couple guys getting on, and guys getting a little excited in the dugout, good to see coming off a loss like that,” said Lucas, who went 2 for 4, including a key two-run single in the first inning.

“They’re young and they’ve got a short-term memory. A lot better than me,” Warren said. “They were able to move forward and bounce back. They usually do, they bounce right back. It’s a good win, period, but a good conference win.”

The Tigers went to work right away, scoring three runs in their first trip to the plate. Bennett Sierens and Augie Christiansen drew walks off Storm starter Adam Johnson and Ryan Brucker singled to load the bases. Jordan Reinhardt hit a one-out sacrifice fly to score Sierens, and Lucas drove in two more with a single to left to make it 3-0.

PHS added two runs in the third to go up 5-2 and then batted around in the fourth to score four more runs with only two hits.

Augie Christiansen led off the fourth with a single and Brucker followed with an RBI double. Ean Compton added a sac fly and the next six batters reached safely by either a walk (3), hit by pitch (1), error (1) or fielder’s choice, capped by Sierens’ based-loaded walk to put the Tigers up 9-2.

“We never have an easy time over here. There’s always gremlins out there,” Warren said. “I was real pleased with the way the guys were swinging the bat. Still too many strikeouts, but we swung the bat and put the ball in play. They’re warming up to the idea.”

Carter Salisbury greeted Tiger reliever Ryan Brucker with a two-run hit in the sixth, and the Storm added another run on fielder’s choice by Ethan Freeman in the seventh, but came up short, 12-6.

BV coach Ryan Schisler knew the Tigers would come to play for Round 2.

“We didn’t take anything for granted. They’re a good squad. And they came out and did things at the plate, a lot better tonight off our pitchers and they battled,” he said. “I thought our guys had some pretty good at-bats off (Danny) Cihocki, too, who’s a real tough pitcher. They got to us a little bit more and that was the difference.’

The Storm skipper liked to see the Storm shrug off a shaky first inning and score two runs after the Tigers scored three.

“We didn’t get out to a clean start, but our guys had an answer in the bottom of the first. Even in a situation like that, to see us fight and go back and forth, you like to see that. Still some positives,” Schisler said. “We got to get back to it with a tough game (Friday at home vs. E-P). We just told them to flush it and be ready to go tomorrow.”

Brucker and Lucas both had two hits to lead the Tigers with Cihocki adding a double. Cihocki took the win, scattering five hits and six walks over 5 1/3 innings with five earned runs and 10 strikeouts.

Sam Wright and Sam Rouse each went 2 for 4 to lead the Storm at the plate.

At Manlius

Princeton 302 403 - 12 8 0

Bureau Valley 200 102 1 - 6 9 6

WP: Cihocki. LP: A. Johnson.

Leading hitters: PHS - Lucas (2-4), Brucker (2-5, 2 RBI). BV - Wright (2-4), Rouse (2-4).