Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
VMI
Bucknell Baseball Drops Season Opener to VMI, 10-2
2/20/2007 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 20, 2007
LEXINGTON, Va. - Senior Matt Curry (Towanda, Pa./Towanda) struck out six batters in four innings, however the Bucknell baseball team could not hold off VMI as the Bison dropped their season opener by a 10-2 margin at Gray-Minor Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. The Keydets, who took two of three from Florida in their first weekend of play, move to 3-1 on the year, while Bucknell begins 2007 at 0-1.
In the top of the second, the Orange and Blue managed to push across the first run of the game and take a 1-0 lead. Senior Ryan Gryskevicz (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) began the inning with a double down the right field line, but was erased in a rundown after a single by junior Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School), allowing Buursma to advance to second. Buursma then moved to third on a groundout by junior Ed Rubbo (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) and the next batter, senior Dustin Kapson (Sweet Valley, Pa./Lake Lehman), drove him in with a single to right field.
VMI responded by posting runs in each of the next five innings. In the bottom of the third, Thane Smith belted a leadoff double and would later score the tying run on a two-out double to right centerfield by Michael Roberts. The Keydets then went up 2-1 in the fourth when Shane Geisslinger reached on an error, moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt and came home on a RBI single by Chad Rice.
In the fifth, Roberts reached on an error, moved to third on a single by Eddie Van Es and scored on a fielder's choice. The following hitter, Ryan Litz, singled through the right side to bring in Van Es, which gave the Keydets a 4-1 advantage.
The Bison trimmed a run off their deficit in the sixth. With two outs, junior Chris Pieper (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber) walked. Gryskevicz followed and singled through the left side, sending Pieper to second, and Buursma knocked a base hit to plate him on the next play.
However, VMI managed to break the game open by scoring three times in the bottom of the inning and tacked on three more in the seventh. Smith finished the contest 3-for-4 at the plate with three runs scored and a RBI for the Keydets. A.J. Yoder and Roberts each collected two runs scored and two hits apiece, while Van Es and Justin Hess both had two RBI on the afternoon. For the Orange and Blue, Gryskevicz, Buursma and Kapson combined for the squad's six hits. Buursma went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI and Kapson hit 2-for-3 with a run batted in.
Curry, the starter for the Bison, allowed just two runs, one earned, on five hits with no walks and fanned six, but took the loss (0-1). Trey Barham pitched five innings and surrendered one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts for VMI and was credited with the victory (2-0). Corey Bachman relieved him and allowed one run on two hits over four innings with one walk and three strikeouts to record his first save of the season.
Bucknell will be back in action Feb. 23-25, when the team will return to the Old Dominion state to face the University of Virginia in a three-game series in Charlottesville, beginning with a 4 p.m. contest on Friday.
