Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Virginia
Bucknell Baseball Drops Doubleheader at No. 7 Virginia
2/24/2007 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 24, 2007
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Going into the latter innings of both games in its Saturday doubleheader at Davenport Field, the Bucknell baseball team remained within striking distance of No. 7 Virginia, but fell short of victory, dropping game one, 3-0, and suffering a 13-2 setback in game two. The Bison are now 0-4 so far in 2007, while the Cavaliers move to 10-1 and have won eight in a row.
Game one proved to be a defensive battle. With neither side yet to get on the board heading into the top of the fifth, Bucknell looked as if it might take its first lead of the weekend. Junior Ed Rubbo (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) led off the inning with a single through the left side and sophomore Zachary Brown (Stroudsburg, Pa./Notre Dame) moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Rubbo then went to third on a groundout by senior Dustin Kapson (Sweet Valley, Pa./Lake Lehman), but Jacob Thompson managed to induce a ground ball on the next play to end the inning.
The Bison threatened again in the sixth after freshman Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley) reached on an error to begin the frame and ended up at third after a sacrifice and a groundout. Sophomore Mark Angelo (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) was hit by a pitch, giving the Orange and Blue a second base runner, however, Thompson fanned junior Chris Pieper (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber) to work out of the jam.
In Virginia's next turn at-bat, the squad plated the first run of the contest. Brandon Guyer drove a leadoff double down the left field line and later scored on a single by Ryan Hudson after advancing to third on a base hit to right field by Jeremy Farrell.
Then in the seventh, the Cavaliers followed up with two more runs. Greg Miclat reached on an error and came home on a single to center by Sean Doolittle. Following a single by David Adams, Guyer plated Doolittle with his third double of the game.
Senior Nathan Mittag (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield) took the loss (0-1) despite having an effective first start of the season. In six innings of work, Mittag held Virginia to one run on eight hits and recorded three walks and two strikeouts. Thompson threw seven scoreless innings for the Cavaliers to earn his third victory on the year (3-0), scattering two hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Michael Schwimer pitched 1.2 innings, allowed one hit and stuck out four to pick up a save (1).
Junior Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School) registered two of Bucknell's three hits as he was 2-for-3 at the plate in game one to lead the Bison. Guyer totaled a team-best three hits for Virginia, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
In the second contest of the day, Adams opened the second inning with a triple down the right field line and came home after the next batter, Guyer, singled to center to begin what would become a three-run inning for the Cavaliers.
Bucknell fought back in its next turn at the plate as junior Shawn Hirsch (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) led off the third with a single and scored on a two-out base hit by Rubbo, which cut the deficit to 3-1.
In the bottom of the inning, Virginia stretched its lead to 5-1 as Farrell singled to drive in Adams, who reached on an error, and then crossed the plate himself on an RBI double by Beau Seabury.
Senior Ryan Gryskevicz (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) homered to begin the fourth, pulling the Bison to within three at 5-2. Pieper followed with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior Austin Turban (Northfield, Ill./New Trier). With two outs, Hirsch singled to right field, but Pieper was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Bucknell found itself with another chance to score in the sixth as the Bison had runners on second and third with one out, however, were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Virginia then managed to pull away with a flurry of offense, scoring eight times in the next two innings.
Senior Matt Curry started on the mound for the Bison and took the loss (0-2) after allowing seven runs, three earned, on nine hits with no walks and four strikeouts. Matt Packer tossed 5.2 innings and surrendered two runs on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts to record the win (2-0) for the Cavaliers.
Rubbo and Hirsch led the Bucknell batters with two hits apiece. Rubbo went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Hirsch was 2-for-3 with a run scored. For Virginia, Miclat drove in three runs, Adams and Farrell each scored three, while Seabury and Mitchell both paced the squad with three hits.
The Bison will be back in action next weekend, Mar. 3-4, when the squad will play host to Cornell in a four-game series, with both doubleheaders scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday and Sunday at Depew Field.
