Bucknell University Athletics
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Bucknell Baseball Postseason Hopes Dashed as Holy Cross Completes Sweep
4/25/2004 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 25, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell baseball team will have just four games left in its season. Holy Cross completed a four-game sweep on a rain-slogged Depew Field, ending the last Patriot League weekend and putting Bucknell (17-22, 7-13 PL) out of the running for a berth in the Patriot League Tournament. The Crusaders (13-20-1, 9-11 PL) came from behind in both games, taking the opener 3-2 and the nightcap 9-8 in a rain-shortened six innings.
Ben Stoll led Bucknell with four hits between the two games, while the Bison used six pitchers over the doubleheader, including a stint from Jacob Moss in each game. Cory Nadler and Phil Futrick also threw on Sunday after battling the visitors on Saturday as well.
Bucknell opened the scoring in game one when Pete Wolf scored on a second-inning wild pitch from Holy Cross starter Drew Bigda. The visitors tied the game with an RBI-double from Bigda in the fourth. Bucknell went ahead 2-1 in the fifth with a run-scoring single from Ben Stoll, but Holy Cross took a 3-2 lead in the sixth with RBI-singles from Bigda and Tom Potvin.
Bigda (2-4) threw six innings in the opener, giving up four hits and two earned runs. Scott Hampe threw the seventh and didn't allow a hit while preserving the lead for his third save. Nathan Mittag (0-1) earned his first start of the year and went 5 1/3 innings, surrendering five hits and all three runs. Jacob Moss allowed just one hit over the last 1 2/3 innings.
Each team scored a run in the first inning of game two, Holy Cross on a Mike Marron run-scoring double and Bucknell on a balk by Holy Cross starter Jason Lynch with Stoll on third. The Bison went up 3-1 in the third with run-scoring singles from Wolf and Brian Hirschberg, but each team's offense came alive in the fifth and six innings. Lynch lasted just three innings, giving up nine hits and all three runs.
Holy Cross pushed four across in the top of the fifth, chasing starter Tim Peacock from the game. Five of the first six batters got hits in the inning for the Crusaders, with Tucker Frawley netting two RBI on a double, Jim McCloud one on a succeeding double, and Marron completing the scoring with an RBI-single, giving Holy Cross a 5-3 advantage. Phil Futrick finished the frame for Bucknell, giving up two hits and a run in his 2/3 of an inning.
But Bucknell pushed five across in the bottom of the fifth. The Bison sent 10 men to the plate in an inning that saw Sam Moss, Steve Stutzman and Phil Bunting all earn RBI-singles, while two more runs scored on a wild pitch and balk. Keith Simard was charged with four runs in his 1 2/3 innings, while Bill Hughto finished the fifth and was charged with one run on three hits.
The 8-5 lead would not last long for the Bison. Bucknell used three pitchers in the sixth as Holy Cross took a 9-8 lead that would last through Bucknell's sixth-inning at-bat. Frawley recorded an RBI-single for the first run, after which inning-starter Jacob Moss was pulled for Cory Nadler (3-3), who started Saturday's first game. McCloud brought the score to 8-7 with a sac fly, and the inning was extended when Sam Moss dropped a Mike Marron pop-up that would have been the third out. It allowed Frawley to score the game-tying run. A Mike Schell RBI-single then gave Holy Cross the lead. Matt Curry recorded the inning's last out for Bucknell, though Nadler's charged run put Holy Cross ahead.
The doubleheader suffered through two rain delays. The first pushed the start back to 1:50 p.m. from its originally-scheduled 12 p.m. first pitch. The second came in the bottom of the sixth inning of the second game. Wolf grounded to shortstop Ed Turner, who lost his footing on the wet field. The umpiring crew ultimately elected to wait out the rain, and after 30 minutes, the game resumed and the Bison failed to score a run, giving McCloud, who entered following the delay, his second save of the year. The officials then called the contest, giving Holy Cross a six-inning win.
The Bison will travel to Pace next weekend for three non-conference games before wrapping up the season at Depew Field versus Temple on May 4.
Game 1 Holy Cross 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 -- 3 6 0 Bucknell 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 -- 2 4 1Bigda, Hampe (7) and Marron, Mittag, Moss (6) and Bunting.
WP - Bigda (2-4). LP - Mittag (0-1). Save - Hampe (3). RBI - H: Bigda 2, Potvin; B: Stoll.
2B - H: Bigda; B: Stutzman.Team Records: Holy Cross 12-20-1, 8-11 PL. Bucknell 17-20, 7-12 PL.
Game 2 Holy Cross 1 0 0 0 4 4 -- 9 11 1 Bucknell 1 0 2 0 5 0 -- 8 14 4
Lynch, Simard (4), Hughto (5), McCloud (6) and Marron;
Peacock, Futrick (5), Moss (6), Nadler (6), Curry (6). WP - Hughto (1-0).
LP - Nadler (3-3). Save - McCloud (2). RBI - H: Frawley 3, McCloud 2, Marron 2, Bigda.
B: Moss, S., Wolf, Hirschberg, Stutzman, Bunting. 2B - H: Frawley, McCloud 2, Marron.
B: Moss, S.Team Records: Holy Cross 13-20-1, 9-11 PL. Bucknell 17-22, 7-13 PL.
