Bucknell University
St. Bonaventure
Eight Runs For Bonnies in First Two Frames Downs Bucknell Baseball, 10-4
4/20/2004 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 20, 2004
OLEAN, N.Y. - The Bucknell baseball team made a trip north on Tuesday, but the Bison nine's record continued its unfortunate recent trend of traveling south in a loss at St. Bonaventure, 10-4. Freshman Matt Curry earned his first start and allowed eight runs in the first two innings before settling down through the middle stanzas. The loss was the eighth in the last nine games for Bucknell (17-17), with the defeats coming at an inopportune time as the last Patriot League weekend approaches.
The only Bucknell bat to find an open spot on the turf more than once was that of Steve Stutzman, who went 3-for-4 on an eight-hit day for the Bison. It was the first three-hit game of Stutzman's career.
Though Pete Wolf brought home Kyle Walter on a first-inning groundout, rookie Curry's (0-1) trouble started right away. After a Kieran Malone RBI-single, Craig King hit a grand slam to put the Bonnies (12-12) up 5-1. The four runs plated were all unearned, however, as the knock came with two outs and the inning had been extended by a Phil Bunting error behind the plate.
St. Bonaventure opened up an 8-1 lead in the second inning as Matt Marduesz had a two-run single and Malone had his second RBI of the game. Bucknell got those runs back in the top of the fourth on sacrifice flies by Walter and Sam Moss as well as a Chris Grandizio run-scoring single, but the four-run cushion went unchanged until the home squad widened it by two in the eighth.
After Curry's troublesome first two innings, the freshman retired the side in order in the third and fourth before stranding two runners in scoring position in the fifth. Jon Black made just his second appearance of the season and first since March 7 versus Fordham, throwing 2 2/3 innings but allowing an RBI-single to Marduesz and St. Bonaventure's 10th run to score on a wild pitch. Ryan Gryzkevicz faced two batters in the bottom of the eighth, walking one and getting St. Bonaventure's last out.
Bonnies pitcher Nate Cameron (1-1) went all nine innings, scattering eight hits and allowing the four Bison runs, but let no runner past second base after the fourth inning. Following that three-run frame, all Cameron yielded were two of Stutzman's hits and one to Chris Mahony.
The Bison will have another non-conference tune-up on Wednesday at Towson before tackling Holy Cross on Saturday and Sunday. Bucknell is currently tied with Lehigh for the third and final playoff spot in the Patriot League, with Navy one game behind and Holy Cross two.
Bucknell 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 -- 4 8 2 St. Bonaventure 0 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 -- 10 10 1Curry, Black (6), Gryskevicz (8) and Bunting; Cameron and Blakeley, Grap (6).
WP - Cameron (1-1). LP - Curry (0-1). RBI: B - Walter, Wolf, Moss, Grandizio;
S - Marduesz 3, Malone 2, King 4. 2B: B - Walter, Stutzman. HR: S - King (4).
