P-Rays Drop Home Opener 5-1 to Danville

The Princeton Rays opened the 2010 season with a 5-1 loss to the Danville Braves at Hunnicutt Field on Tuesday night. Enny Romero turned out a great starting performance, pitching six scoreless inning.

The Rays took an early lead in the second inning. Bryan Fogle opened the inning with a walk. Hector Guevara drove home the run with an RBI triple to right, giving the Rays a 1-0 lead.

Princeton held the lead until the seventh inning when Danville reached the scoreboard. Jace Whitmer reached on an error then Aleberto Odreman cleared the bases with a two run blast that gave the Braves a 2-0 lead.

Danville pushed across three more runs in the ninth to guarantee the victory. Jace Whitmenr and Daniel Falcon each drove home runs with RBI doubles. Then a sac fly by Jason Mowry plated the third run to give the Braves the 5-1 margin of victory.

Romero made the start, pitching 6 scoreless innings with 2 hits, 2 strikeouts and 3 walks before turning the game over to the bullpen in the seventh. Victor Mateo was charged with the loss, throwing 2 1/3 innings and allowing 5 runs (3 earned) on 3 hits with a strikeout and 2 walks. Brad Furdal pitched the final 2/3 inning, allowing no hits.

The P-Rays will face Danville again on Wednesday night in game two of the three game series at Hunnicutt Field. Andrew Bellatti (0-0, -.--) is scheduled to start for Princeton against Ryan Weber (0-0, -.--) for Danville.