Danville drops second out of three in Princeton
Danville drops second out of three in Princeton
Despite Grosser's quality start, D-Braves lose 4-1 to P-Rays
DANVILLE, VA - The D-Braves got out to an early lead out in Princeton Monday night, but their lone run in the second inning was not enough to top the Rays. Alec Grosser threw five strong innings, but the lack of run production did Danville in as they drop their second out of three so far in Princeton 4-1.
Grosser has been at the top of Danville's rotation all season, and leads the team in strikeouts and is amongst the league leaders in punch outs despite being labeled as a ground ball pitcher. In his five innings of work, the right hander allowed three runs on seven hits, while walking two and striking out five batters. It was another solid start for Grosser, unfortunately the offense could not manufacture enough runs to give the Alexandria, Virginia native a win.
Danville's offense out-hit Princeton's 10-9 in the game, while the Princeton defense added three errors to their totals. However, the D-Braves still could not put together a way to bring runners across the plate. As a whole the offense was 2-14 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 runners on base.
Trevor Sprowl provided the lone Danville run in the second inning. Jose Morel sent a double to left with two out, setting himself up in scoring position for Sprowl. Princeton answered back in the fourth, scoring three runs before the inning was over. Carter Burgess knocked his 13th double of the season off of Grosser past Morel to score Hector Montes and Nick Ciuffo, making it a 3-1 ball game.
The Danville Braves (35-29) will face off with the Princeton Rays (36-27) in their final matchup of the regular season with each team looking for the first place spot in the East. After Monday's loss, the D-Braves sit in third place in the East division, 1.5 games behind the Rays for first place and 0.5 games behind the Pulaski Mariners for second place and the final playoff spot. The first pitch for tomorrow's game four contest between the Braves and Rays is scheduled for a first pitch at 7:05 p.m. at Hunnicutt Field.
WP: Cameron Varga (1-1)
LP: Alec Grosser (4-3)
TOG: 2:27
ATT: 908