Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Army
Bucknell Baseball Wins One of Two Against Army
4/9/2007 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 9, 2007
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Junior Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School) matched the school record for career saves as he helped the Bucknell baseball team post a 5-4 game two victory against Army on Monday afternoon at Depew field after the squad dropped game one, 4-3, earlier in the day. With the split, the Bison move to 12-14 on the year, 5-3 in the Patriot League, while the Black Knights are 10-15-1 overall and 2-6 in league action.
Chris Simmons began the second inning of game two with a triple and Kyle Stramara followed with an RBI double that produced Army's first run. Stramara then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and came home on a sacrifice fly by J.P. Polchinski to give the Black Knights a 2-0 lead.
Bucknell answered with a run in the bottom half of the frame as Junior Chris Pieper (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber) singled through the right side and later crossed the plate on an RBI groundout by junior Shawn Hirsch (Morristown, N.J./Morristown). However, Army promptly took back its two-run cushion as Tony Capozzi led off the third inning with a single and eventually scored on a fielder's choice.
Then in the bottom of the third, the Bison offense erupted for four runs to climb in front, 5-3. With one out, Buursma drew a walk and senior Ryan Gryskevicz (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) reached on an error. Piper singled to bring in Buursma and, following a walk to junior Ed Rubbo (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge), an RBI groundout by junior Mark Angelo (Quakertown, Pa/Quakertown) plated Gryskevicz to tie the score at three. The next batter, Hirsch, knocked in Rubbo and Pieper with a single to right field, giving Bucknell its first lead of the day.
In the top of the sixth, the Black Knights cut their deficit to 5-4. Simmons ripped his second triple of the contest and Stramara drove him in with a single up the middle. However, Buursma shut down Army the rest of the way as he worked four scoreless innings and allowed just two hits with one walk and no strikeouts to pick up the save (4). This moved Buursma's career total to 14 as he tied 2002 graduate Gregg Farmery for the most saves in Bucknell history.
Sophomore Will Carney (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) earned his first collegiate victory (1-0) as he tossed 2.2 innings of relief for the Orange and Blue and surrendered one run on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Drew Clothier started for the Black Knights and suffered the loss (2-3) as he went seven innings and gave up five runs, one earned, on eight hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
In game one, Army jumped out in front 1-0 in the third after Andy Ernesto tripled to right center and came home on a sacrifice fly by Barnes Connell.
The Bison tied the score in the bottom of the inning as freshman Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley) singled, moved to third on a single by Gryskevicz, and crossed the plate on a passed ball.
The Black Knights quickly went back on top by posting a three-run fourth. Cole White walked and scored on a single by Stramara. Polchinski plated Simmons with a single to right and Ernesto brought in Stramara with an RBI groundout.
In the bottom of the seventh, Bucknell climbed to within one at 4-3. Angelo and Rubbo started things off for the Orange and Blue with back-to-back singles and with two away in the frame, sophomore Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) drove in the pair with an RBI single up the middle.
Bucknell fell short of the comeback, however, as Milan Dinga successfully completed the save (1), recording all three outs in the final inning while giving up one hit and posting one strikeout. White notched the victory (3-2) for Army as he went six innings and gave up all three runs, two earned, on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Bison hurler Mathew Wilson (Toronto, Ontario/Northern S.S.) took the loss (3-2) as he pitched all seven innings and surrendered four runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
Pieper went 3-for-4 on the day to lead the Orange and Blue, scored two runs and tallied one RBI. Hirsch totaled three RBI, while Grandizio drove in two runs. Simmons and Stramara both hit 4-for-7 in the doubleheader for the Black Knights, Simmons with three runs scored and Stramara with two runs scored and three RBI.
Bucknell will next travel to Selinsgrove, Pa., for a single game against Susquehanna on Wednesday, Apr. 11, beginning at 4 p.m.
