Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Northern Ill
Northern Illinois Tops Bison Baseball, 7-5
3/11/2002 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 11, 2002
BRADENTON, Fla. - Northern Illinois out-hit Bucknell 11-5 en route to a 7-5 win in non-league baseball action this afternoon at Academy Park.
Bucknell, competing in its seven-game Spring Break Trip, dropped to 4-8 with the loss while Northern Illinois improved to 3-3.
The Huskies broke open a 5-5 deadlock with two runs in the top of the eighth off Bucknell reliever Cory Nadler, who took the loss and fell to 0-1 for the season. Northern Illinois starter Knick Davis (1-1) pitched seven innings and picked up the victory. Davis allowed only five hits while giving up five Bison runs.
Northern Illinois got on the scoreboard first with thee runs in the top of the second off Bucknell starter Kevin Burns. After hitting a batter and walking a batter, Burns allowed the Huskies to score their first run on an errant pick-off attempt to first. Rob Marconi drove in NIU's second run with an RBI-triple to left-center, and Mike Santoro made it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly to center.
Bucknell rallied to score all five of the team's runs in the bottom of the second. With one out, sophomore Chris Mahony reached on an error, and freshman Austin Barrett was hit with a pitch. Freshman Gregory Ekimoff then made his first collegiate bat a memorable one by scoring Mahony on a single up the middle. Sophomore Ben Stoll followed up with a single to left to load the bases, and sophomore Chris Cipolloni brought home Barrett with a sacrifice fly to center.
Senior Larry Scheetz kept the rally going by walking to load the bases before senior Eric Fishman clouted a bases-clearing double to put the Bison on top 5-3.
NIU came back with one run in the third and one in the sixth off Burns to knot the score at 5-5. John Brock singled and reached home on a single by Pat Kerrigan in the third. Jason Ciarrachi led off the sixth with a single, and scored three batters later on another single by Trevor Stocking.
After throwing a scoreless seventh inning of relief, Nadler was touched for three hits and two runs in the eighth. Ciarrachi and Stocking teamed up to score the Huskies go-ahead run, as Ciarrachi led off with his second consecutive single and scored from third on Stocking's second RBI-single. Dave Garcia pushed across NIU's seventh run with a groundout to second.
Northern Illinois' Nathan Stillwell fanned the side in the top of the eighth, and Max Sulzeberger retired Bucknell in order in the ninth for his first save of the season.
Burns worked six innings for the Bison and allowed five runs on seven hits. He struck out five and walked only one. Nadler gave up four hits and two runs in two innings, and senior Gregg Farmery pitched yet another scoreless inning of relief in the ninth. In six appearances and 9.2 inning pitched this season, Farmery still has not allowed a run.
Bucknell plays its third game of the trip tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. against Manhattan.
