Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Navy
Navy Sweeps Bucknell on the Baseball Diamond, 10-6 and 4-1
4/14/2001 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 14, 2001
Annapolis, Md. - Navy handed Bucknell its first two Patriot League losses of the season on Saturday afternoon, sweeping a twinbill from the Bison at Max Bishop Stadium. The Mids captured game one, 10-6, and won the nightcap, 4-1. With the wins, Navy (12-18-1, 7-3 PL) moves to within one game of Bucknell (20-13, 8-2 PL) in the league standings.
In front of 14 professional scouts there to see Bucknell starting pitcher Kevin McDowell (Cheswick, Pa./Deer Lakes), Navy scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Second baseman Jason Guidos led off the first with a single to right field and moved to second on shortstop Nick Sylvester's groundout to first. Designated hitter Willie Gury singled to center field, scoring Guidos, and catcher David Woolsey's RBI-single scored Candeto from second. Right fielder John Cocca followed with a single to left field, scoring Gury and Woolsey to give the Mids a 4-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the second, Navy center fielder Brian Whitten belted his first career home run, a solo shot to left field on a 0-1 count off McDowell, giving the Mids a 5-0 lead. Navy kept the pressure on in the bottom of the third as the Mids added two runs to their lead with two outs. First baseman Andy Mild came home to score from third base on a wild pitch by McDowell. Woolsey, who moved from first to second on the wild pitch, scored on Cocca's RBI-single to left field.
Third baseman Andy Green doubled to start the Mids' fourth and scored on Guidos' RBI-single to center field to make it 8-0.
Bucknell cut Navy's lead in half in the top of the fifth, posting four runs off starter Rich McDevitt. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, McDevitt gave up consecutive base hits to second baseman Chris Herron (Vienna, Va./Bishop O'Connell) and shortstop Larry Scheetz (Newtown, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep) and center fielder Ian Joseph (Novelty, Ohio/West Geauga) walked to load the bases. Catcher Brad Gething (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) came through with an infield single to third base scoring Herron and Scheetz scored on a throwing error by Green. Joseph and Gething scored on third baseman John DiBonaventura's (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland) single to center.
With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Navy put runners on second and third but was unable to push them across as McDowell worked out of trouble.
Bison right fielder Mike Ritz (Old Tappan, N.J./Northern Valley Regional) belted his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot that just cleared the wall in left field off McDevitt in the top of the sixth to make it 8-5, but Navy added two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 10-5 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Ritz's RBI-single scored DiBonaventura from second base to make the score, 10-6. Brad Deafenbaugh came in to relieve Brian Pennell with two on and one out and got the final two outs to earn his second save of the season.
McDevitt worked five and one-third of an inning and struckout one batter to improve to 2-3. McDowell dropped to 2-2 on the season. Cocca went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Green was 2-for-3 and scored two runs. Guidos added two hits with an RBI and scored a run for the Mids.
In the second game, DiBonaventura's sacrifice fly to left field, scored Herron to give Bucknell a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Navy starting pitcher Matt Cooney got Ritz to ground out to second with the bases loaded to end the inning.
The Mids came alive in the bottom of the fifth to take a 2-1 lead. Whitten reached on an error to start the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Green. Sylvester singled to center field, scoring Whitten to tie the game at one. Navy went ahead on Gury's RBI-single to right center as Sylvester came home from second.
Navy put two on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth. Catcher Dom Nicolini was hit by a pitch to start the inning and scored on Dan Falkner's triple down the right field line. Falkner successfully stole home on a bunt attempt by Green, giving Navy a 4-1 lead. Cooney won his second straight Patriot League game to improve to 3-3, while Bucknell starter Chris Lackett (Wall Township, N.J./Wall) dropped to 5-2.
Herron had a solid day for the Bison, going 4-for-5 while scoring a pair of runs. Ritz finished the day 4-for-7 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Navy and Bucknell will close out the four-game series with a doubleheader Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. Bucknell leads Navy by one game in the Patriot League standings.
