Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh (PL Championship)
Bucknell Baseball Falls to Lehigh, 5-0, Finishes as Runner-Up in Patriot League Championship
5/14/2006 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 14, 2006
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Bucknell baseball team fell to Lehigh, 5-0, in game two of the Patriot League Championship at Goodman Campus field on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, the Mountain Hawks clinched the Patriot League title, taking the best-of-three series two games to none. The Bison finish the 2006 season as the Patriot League runner-up with an overall record of 24-24 while Lehigh advances to the NCAA Tournament as league champions with a record of 27-25.
The Mountain Hawks opened the contest with two runs in the first. Joe Ercolano led off with a single through the right side, Matt McBride singled to center field and both runners came home on a RBI single to right by Nick Bet.
Lehigh then added a third run in the third and tacked on two more in the sixth. In the third, Ercolano singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by McBride, bringing the score to 3-0. The final two runs crossed the plate with two out in the sixth. Mike Sandonato and Geoff Campbell reached with back-to-back singles and scored on an error.
Bucknell threatened to rally in the seventh inning. Sophomore Ed Rubbo (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) began the inning with a single and the next batter, classmate Shawn Hirsch (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) was hit by a pitch. However, Joe Matteo managed to work out of the jam for the Mountain Hawks, getting senior Brad Duvall (Hempstead, Md./Hereford) to hit into a double play.
Matteo pitched all nine scoreless innings and picked up the victory (7-3) as he scattered five hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. Junior Nathan Mittag (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield) threw 5.1 innings and took the loss for the Bison as he allowed five runs, three earned, on nine hits with one walk and one strikeout. Bucknell sophomore Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School) worked the remaining 2.2 innings scoreless, surrendering one hit with one walk and no strikeouts.
Duvall finished the contest as the lone member of the Orange and Blue to register multiple hits as he went 2-for-3 at the plate. Senior Kyle Walter (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg Area), Buursma and Rubbo recorded the remaining three hits for Bucknell.
