Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Fordham
Bucknell Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Fordham
3/7/2004 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 7, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bison went even on the day and on the young season as well, splitting a doubleheader with Fordham (2-7). The Bison used a fine performance by Matt Daley to propel them to victory 5-4 in game one, but Cory Nadler incurred a deficit early, and the Bison (3-3) were unable to recover in the day's second game, losing 11-4.
Daley (2-0) had a masterful outing through six innings in the first game, facing the minimum number of batters and allowing just one hit that was immediately retired trying to advance to second. The senior faced four batters in the seventh and final inning, giving up two walks, a hit, and hitting one batter before being replaced by Phil Futrick, who recorded the save.
Offensively, Fordham's Joseph Gwozdz was the only Ram to record two hits for the second-straight game and earned the visitors' only two hits in the day's opener. Five different players had Bucknell's six hits, and five players also split Bucknell's RBI. Ben Stoll and Phil Bunting were the two Bison to have one of each.
Fordham starter David Rodriguez (1-2) had a fine start going, striking out ten Bison before running into some trouble of his own in the fifth. With two on and one out, Stoll recorded an RBI single, bringing home Bunting before being retired trying to stretch his hit into a double. That gave Bucknell a lead it would not relinquish. Rodriguez faced three batters in the sixth, giving up two hits and a walk, including a Kyle Walter triple. Andrew Paolillo relieved Rodriguez, but faced just three batters himself and could not get an out. After Bucknell recorded four runs in the inning, Fordham's Craig Tscherednikov entered the game and retired all three Bison he faced.
Daley had eight strikeouts through his first six innings. After being replaced by Futrick, Fordham scored its first run when the sophomore threw a wild pitch, bringing Kurt Thomas home from third. Futrick got the next two hitters to ground out, bringing home one run each time. Futrick got John Mollicone to fly out to right, ending the game and preserving Futrick's first save of the season.
In the second game, Nadler (0-1) went down 2-0 after one. Gwozdz knocked home a run and Fordham's second run scored on a Bucknell throwing error. The following inning, Bucknell went down 6-0 as three hits and two walks doomed the Bison. The most damage in the frame was done by Tim Short's two-RBI double. Though Nadler had a clean third, the fourth inning was his last. Three hits and one RBI each by Thomas and Joe Ciccone put Fordham ahead 8-1.
Bucknell's first run came in the third after Chris Mahony sacrificed Chris Grandizio home following the Bucknell leftfielder's triple. Freshman Nathan Mittag started the fifth and surrendered no hits with one walk and one hit batsman. Mittag avoided allowing Fordham to increase its lead despite two errors by the defense behind him during his two innings.
Jacob Moss entered to pitch for Bucknell in the seventh, getting the Rams in order on the help of a double play, and yielded to Matt Curry for the eighth. The freshman gave up two hits and two walks, allowing Fordham to increase its lead to 10-3. Though Bucknell responded in its half of the inning with a run, Fordham countered in the top of the ninth with a Mollicone solo shot to left off Jon Black. Black lasted just two outs after giving up two hits and hitting three Fordham batters. Luke Mara closed the game on the Bison mound with a Thomas strikeout.
Fordham starter Rob Semerano (1-0) threw a fine game against the Bison, allowing just two hits, Grandizio's triple and a single by Stoll in the sixth, through six innings of work. Bryan Kelly relieved for Fordham in the seventh, surrendering two unearned runs in the inning while giving up two singles, including an RBI hit by Grandizio as well as Bucknell's eighth-inning run.
Stoll and Grandizio led Bucknell with two hits each in the second game, while Tim Short, Thomas, and Kevin Brush each had two for Fordham. Short also had a game-high three RBI.
Bucknell goes to Florida for seven games in seven days starting next Sunday. The Bison will face Columbia, Vermont, Fairfield, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Dartmouth while in the Sunshine State.
Game 1 Fordham 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 -- 4 2 1 Bucknell 0 0 0 0 1 4 x -- 5 6 0 Rodriguez, Paolillo (6), Tscherednikov (6) and Mollicone; Daley, Futrick (7) and Bunting.
WP - Daley (2-0). LP - Rodriguez (1-2). Save - Futrick (1).
RBI - F: Gwozdz, Lert, Short; B: Stoll, Wolf, Bunting, Capece. 3B - B: Walter.Game 2 Fordham 2 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 -- 11 11 2 Bucknell 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 -- 4 6 5 Semerano, Kelly (7) and Mollicone;
Nadler, Mittag (6), Moss (7), Curry (8), Black (9), Mara (9) and Bunting, Barrett (5).
WP - Semerano (1-0). LP - Nadler (0-1).
RBI - F: Kaible, Short (3), Thomas (2), Ciccone, Gwozdz, Mollicone; B - Grandizio, Mahony.
2B - F: Short. 3B - B: Grandizio. HR - F: Mollicone.
