Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Towson
Bucknell Baseball Takes Early Lead, But Towson Scores Nine Straight for 9-3 Win
4/21/2004 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 21, 2004
TOWSON, Md. - The Bucknell baseball team was up 2-0 on Towson heading into the bottom of the third, but a four-run inning for the Tigers (13-22) gave the home squad a lead it would not relinquish. The 9-3 loss dropped Bucknell to 17-18, a side of .500 the Bison have not visited since Feb. 22 after James Madison took two of three from the Bison to open Bucknell's season.
Eight players split Bucknell's eight hits on the day, while the three RBI for the Bison were shared evenly as well. Only Ryan Gryzkevicz had one of each, and all eight of the hits were singles.
Bucknell got on the scoreboard first in the top of the second when Ben Stoll brought home Brian Day on a sacrifice fly, and added another in the third when a Pete Wolf groundout brought home Chris Mahony. Towson's big third inning started when Adam Heffron doubled home Casper Wells, who had tripled to start the inning. Heffron scored on a wild pitch to tie the game, and Bucknell starter Luke Mara (1-1) was pulled after walking two of the next three batters. Marc Cussatt relieved and allowed two RBI singles before ending the inning.
Towson added another in the fourth when Pat Fields scored Wells on a sac fly. After Mara's 2 2/3 with four runs on four hits, Cussatt settled in for the next 3 1/3, allowing two hits and one unearned run. The 5-2 advantage for Towson stood until the eighth when the Tigers put four more on the board off Jesse Retzlaff, making just his second appearance of the season. After a run-scoring single from Heffron, Jeremy Stifler hit a three-run home run to give Towson a 9-2 lead. Retzlaff, who took the game over from Nathan Mittag following the freshman's flawless seventh inning, gave up three singles leading up to the home run before retiring the next three batters.
The Bison added their last run in the top of the ninth when Gryskevicz singled home Evan Weiss. That run was charged to Wells, one of five pitchers Towson used on the day after Jon Tapper (1-0) gave up two runs on two hits in his five innings to start the contest.
The Towson matchup was Bucknell's last leading up to the Holy Cross series this weekend in Lewisburg to end the Patriot League regular season. Bucknell stands in a tie with Lehigh, both 7-9 in league play, for third place and the last Patriot League Tournament berth. The series begins at noon on Saturday.
Bucknell 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 -- 3 8 1 Towson 0 0 4 1 0 0 4 0 x -- 9 10 1Mara, Cussatt (3), Mittag (6), Retzlaff (8) and Barrett; Tapper, Travis (6), Sweich (8),
Wells (9), Holley (9) and Stifler. WP - Tapper (1-0; LP - Mara (1-1). RBI - B: Gryzkevicz,
Wolf, Stoll; T: Justis, Paduano, Heffron 2, Stifler 3, Fields.
2B - T: Heffron. 3B - T: Wells. HR - T: Stifler (2).
