Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Temple
Bucknell Baseball Nipped by Temple, 9-7
4/18/2007 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 18, 2007
AMBLER, Pa. - Despite a stellar performance by sophomore starter Chris Yamaguchi (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown South) who struck out seven and held Temple to one run in six innings, the Bucknell baseball team was unable to hold off the Owls, falling by the score of 9-7 on Wednesday afternoon on Skip Wilson Field. Following the loss, the Bison are 13-19 on the year, while Temple improves to 12-22.
Bucknell jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, which began with three straight walks to freshman Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata), sophomore Jared Kuhmerker (Alexandria, Va./TC Williams) and junior Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School). With one out, junior Mark Angelo (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) drove a double down the left field line to plate Allen and Kuhmerker. Buursma and Angelo later scored the third and fourth runs on an error and on a wild pitch, respectively. The Bison then added a fifth run in the second inning as senior Ryan Gryskevicz (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) knocked in Kuhmerker with an RBI single.
Temple got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back doubles by Ryan Weber and Sean Barksdale, but the Orange and Blue responded with runs in the next two innings. A sacrifice fly by Kuhmerker brought in freshman Eric Valdés (Altamonte Springs, Fla./The First Academy) in the sixth and Gryskevicz came home on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Zachary Brown (Stroudsburg, Pa./Notre Dame) in the seventh.
However, the six-run lead would not be enough to hold off the Owls. Carmen Del Mastro walked and scored on an error in the seventh to cut Temple's deficit to 7-2. Then in the bottom of the eighth, the Owls inched closer with Kyle Obal crossing the plate for the first run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Barksdale. With two outs in the frame, Temple completed its comeback, tallying six additional runs on four hits.
Sophomore Jimmy Murphy (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) suffered the loss (0-1) for Bucknell out of the bullpen as he allowed four runs on four hits and walked one with no strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning. Reliever Mike Click picked up the win (1-0) for the Owls as he worked 2.1 scoreless innings and surrendered one hit with one walk and two strikeouts.
Two Bison had multiple-hit performances on the day as Allen went 2-for-4 with a run scored and Gryskevicz was 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Angelo was 1-for-2 at the plate, scored a run and drove in two as well. Weber paced Temple's offense with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate with two runs scored, while Barksdale, Devon Swope and Obal recorded two RBI apiece.
Bucknell will return to action this weekend, April 21-22, in Worcester, Mass., where the squad will take on Holy Cross in a four-game Patriot League series. Both doubleheaders are slated to begin at noon.
