Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
James Madison
Bucknell Baseball Splits Season-Opening Doubleheader at James Madison
2/21/2004 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 21, 2004
HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Bucknell baseball team split a doubleheader at James Madison on Saturday afternoon, its first game since the 2003 NCAA Tournament regional in Austin, Texas. Kevin Miller took the loss for the Bison in the opener, 16-10, but Matt Daley recorded a complete-game victory in the day's second game, 6-5.
Brian Hirschberg, Ben Stoll, and Kyle Walter all had four hits over the day, with Hirschberg logging three RBI and Brian Day four RBI.
Bucknell recorded the first run of the opener on a Kyle Walter solo home run, one of his four hits over the twosome. James Madison responded in the bottom half of the inning with three. JMU's Skylar Doom doubled and scored on a Miller wild pitch, and Mitchell Moses hit a two-run home run following a walk to Nate Schill. The Bison tied the game in the top of the second. Pete Wolf doubled and Brian Hirschberg singled him home to cut JMU's lead to one, while Bucknell's smallball style worked when Hirschberg scored from third on a wild pitch following a sacrifice and groundout to put him 90 feet from the tie.
But James Madison's offense exploded for 11 runs over the third and fourth innings while holding the Bison scoreless through the fifth. The Dukes ran Miller from the game after the senior allowed eight earned runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. Cory Nadler came in for Miller, allowing the final three runs of that span. All 11 of James Madison's runs in that span came via the longball, as Schill and Davis Stoneburner each had three-run home runs. The trend continued in the fourth, as Mike Butia had a two-run smash and Dan Santobianco had a three-run bomb to cap the barrage.
The Bison found home plate again in the sixth, with two runs. Chris Grandizio had both RBIs when he singled home Phil Bunting and Hirschberg. The Dukes added one in the sixth on a Michael Cowgill RBI-single and another in the seventh on a Butia RBI-triple, completing the scoring for the home team. Down 16-5, Bucknell added five in the eighth, four via a Brian Day grand slam and one from a Sam Moss RBI-single.
Bucknell victimized Jacob Cook for seven of its 10 runs in his three innings pitched, while managing three off starter Brian Leatherwood in five innings. Miller and Nadler struck out four each, while both Bucknell pitchers recorded four strikeouts.
Matt Daley's complete game in the doubleheader's nightcap evened the day for Bucknell, as instant offense gave the senior a cushion he would hold through five of the game's seven innings. Ben Stoll recorded Bucknell's first run when Pete Wolf sacrificed him home, and Brian Hirschberg added three more on his two-out blast. Daley gave up one run in the bottom of the inning after opening the game with two walks, a flyout, and an RBI-single to Schill.
JMU narrowed Bucknell's lead to one in the third. With one out, the Dukes managed three singles and a walk to record their second and third runs of the game. Bucknell widened the lead to two in its half of the fourth on a Stoll RBI-single, but James Madison tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run Santobianco blast. After tagging JMU starter Ryan Lobban for six hits and five runs with just one earned, Bucknell earned the winning run off Travis Risser in the top of the seventh and final frame. Moss singled and advanced to second on a Kyle Walter sacrifice, then took home on an error by Moses. Risser worked 2 2/3 innings, giving up just two hits and the winning run while striking out four.
Bucknell will resume its three-game set at James Madison on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Game 1 Bucknell 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 5 0 - 10 14 2 James Madison 3 0 6 5 0 1 1 0 x - 16 16 1 Miller, Nadler (4) and Bunting; Leatherwood, Cook (6), Lasko (9) and Sluder, Harris (9).
WP - Leatherwood (2-0). LP - Miller (0-1). RBI - B: Moss, Walter, Day (4), Hirschberg, Grandizio (2).
J: Butia (3), Schill (3), Moses (2), Santobianco (3), Cowgill, Stoneburner (3). 2B - B: Stoll; Wolf.
J: Doom (2), Sluder (2), Stonebrunner (2). 3B -
J: Butia (2), Santobianco. HR - B: Walter, Day. J: Butia, Schill, Moses.Game 2 Bucknell 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 - 6 8 1 James Madison 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 - 5 10 3 Daley and Bunting; Lobban, Risser (5), Riley (7) and Santobianco. WP - Daley (1-0).
LP - Risser (0-1). RBI - B: Stoll, Wolf, Hirschberg (3). J: Butia, Schill, Moses, Santobianco (2).
2B - B: Walter. J: Butia, Bristow (2), Cowgill (3). HR - B: Hirschberg. J: Santobianco.Team Records: Bucknell 1-1. James Madison 4-1.
