The Pulaski River Turtles defeated the Princeton WhistlePigs, 8-4, on Saturday night. Pulaski moved to within a half-game behind Princeton for first place in the East. 

Pulaski got on the board first with an RBI single by John Bay to make it 1-0 after the first inning. Pulaski (15-11) followed that up with a run in the second on an RBI single by Myles Smith to make it 2-0. A sac fly by Mark Trotta and a bases-loaded walk of Evan Minarovic made the game 4-0 after three. 

The strong start from Pulaski didn’t stop Princeton from answering back. A run in the fourth and two in the fifth made the game 4-3. 

In the seventh, Pulaski added some insurance runs and made sure that Princeton didn’t come back. A couple of walks and a two-run double from Ross Lovich extended Pulaski’s lead to 6-3. In the next at-bat, a fielder’s choice brought in Lovich to make the game 7-3.

Pulaski added another run in the eighth inning after an RBI double by Irvin Escobar to make it 8-3.

Princeton (15-10) would put up a run in the ninth, but that wouldn’t be enough for the WhistlePigs as the five-lead would be too much to overcome.

Chaz Marte picked up the win after pitching two scoreless innings and striking out three. The loss went to Patrick Queener, who went two innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs.

The Player of the Game honors goes to Ross Lovich. He went 2-for-4, scored up two runs with two RBIs.

The River Turtles look to complete the sweep and take sole possession of first place in the East, with a rematch with the WhistlePigs tomorrow in Princeton, West Virginia.