Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Baseball Looks to Carry Momentum Into Spring Break Trip
3/7/2008 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 7, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Coming off a 3-0-1 weekend at Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth, the Bucknell baseball team will look to continue its winning ways as the squad will travel to Bradenton, Fla., for seven games in seven days, beginning with a contest against IPFW at 10:30 a.m. this Sunday, Mar. 9. The Bison, who are currently 3-2-2 on the season, will also face Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, Vermont and Akron during their trip south.
BISON BASEBALL NOTEBOOK
Bucknell Spring Break Schedule at IMG Academy
- 3/9 vs. IPFW (10:30 a.m.)
- 3/10 vs. Eastern Kentucky (10:30 a.m.)
- 3/11 vs. Eastern Illinois (1 p.m.)
- 3/12 vs. Illinois State (10:30 a.m.)
- 3/13 vs. Vermont (10:30 a.m.)
- 3/14 vs. Akron (3 p.m.)
- 3/15 vs. Eastern Illinois (10:30 a.m.)
Series History
- IPFW - First meeting
- Eastern Kentucky - Bucknell trails series, 0-3-1 - Series began: 2007 - Last meeting: 2/24/08 (L, 3-2)
- Eastern Illinois - First meeting
- Illinois State - Bucknell trails series, 0-1 - Series began: 2005 - Last meeting: 3/14/05 (L, 6-2)
- Vermont - Bucknell trails series, 2-5 - Series began: 1910 - Last meeting: 3/15/04 (W, 7-0)
- Akron - First meeting
The Bison Briefly
- Senior Mark Angelo (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) currently leads the Bison with 12 hits, already matching his single game career high of three hits three times this season, and holds a .414 batting average. He has scored six runs and is tied for the team lead in doubles with three.
- Senior Shawn Hirsch (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) has a squad-high seven RBI on the year, thanks in part to his performance at Richmond last Sunday that saw him post single game bests in hits (4), RBI (5) and total bases (5).
- Junior Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) paces the Orange and Blue with eight runs scored on the year and two homers. This past Monday, he was named Patriot League Player of the Week after hitting .400 over four games last weekend, going 6-for-15 with eight runs scored and three RBI.
- Mathew Wilson (Toronto, Ontario/Northern S.S.) lead the Patriot League with 20 strikeouts and holds a team-best 2.57 ERA. Wilson tossed his ninth career complete game last Saturday, logging a 12-3 win against Virginia Commonwealth. He finished with 10 strikeouts to tie a career best he set a week earlier at Eastern Kentucky. Wilson has given up just three walks on the season, as well.
- Freshmen Trey Frahler (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) and Eric Jarrett (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) both collected their first collegiate wins last weekend. Frahler fanned six VCU batters in six innings.
What a Difference a Year Makes
- The Bison offense has nine of 10 starters returning from 2007 and, despite the similar look to the lineup, the increase in production has been striking. Through seven games, the team has scored 57 runs, on 79 hits with 19 doubles and seven home runs. At this point last season, Bucknell had tallied just 11 runs on 41 hits with three doubles and one home run. In fact, it took the Bison nearly 15 games to score 57 runs last season, while hitting six homers the entire year.
Tying? There's No Tying in Baseball
- The Bison have seen two games end in ties this season after being called due to darkness, matching the most ties ever by a Bucknell squad as the Orange and Blue went 8-14-2 in 1964. Bucknell's 14-inning 7-7 tie against Eastern Kentucky was the longest game in the tenure of head coach Gene Depew. The last time the Bison played a contest that lasted longer than 14 innings was a 15 inning marathon on May 16, 1975, which the Bison won over Temple, 5-4. Prior to this season, the team had last recorded a tie in 1997 (8-8 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson).
Weekend Roundup
- The Bison came home from last weekend's road trip to Virginia with three wins and one tie.
- In Friday's contest at Richmond, Bucknell played to a 7-7 tie against the Spiders, Grandizio and senior Chris Pieper (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber) hit homer runs in the contest. For Grandizio, it was his first of his career.
- On Saturday, the Bucknell offense combined for 22 runs on 28 hits, carrying the squad to a doubleheader sweep of Virginia Commonwealth. With the help of grand slams by senior Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School) and sophomore Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West), the Bison took game one by the score of 12-3. In game two, the Orange and Blue came away with a 10-7 victory. Brouse's grand slam was his first of his career, while Buursma's marked his second. Sophomore Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata), junior Zachary Brown (Stroudsburg, Pa./Notre Dame), Ed Rubbo (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) and Grandizio all had career games against the Rams. Allen set career highs in runs (3), hits (3) and total bases (4). Brown posted a career-best three RBI, Rubbo recorded his first career three-hit game and Grandizio crossed the plate a career-high three times.
- In the final game of the weekend, Bucknell staved off a late-inning rally by Richmond, hanging on for a 12-11 victory on Sunday. In its final turn at the plate, Richmond threatened to complete a nine-run comeback. The Spiders already had two runs in the inning with no outs when senior David Solan (Newark, Del./Newark), who transferred to Bucknell from Richmond, entered to pitch to his former team. Solan preserved the victory, logging two strikeouts on the way to his first career save.
Patriot League Preseason Poll
- Bucknell was tabbed fourth in the Patriot League Preseason poll, which was announced on Feb. 20. The Bison, who finished with a record of 16-24 last season (8-12 PL) picked up 29 points and two first-place votes, while Navy was first (43 points, four first-place votes), Lafayette second (42 points, four first-place votes) and Army third (37 points, two first-place votes).
- The Patriot League tournament has a new format beginning in 2008 as it will move from a three-team one weekend event to a four-team field with best-of-three semifinals and championship series played on back-to-back weekends, May 10-11 and May 16-17, at the home fields of the higher seeds.
Watch Lists
- Two of Bucknell's three senior co-captains have earned national preseason recognition. Buursma was named to the National Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award watch list for a second consecutive year. The award, which was first presented in 2005, is given annually to the top relief pitcher in Division I baseball.
- Wilson was one of three Patriot League players to make the preseason cut for the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award watch list and, most recently, was named a candidate for the Roger Clemens Award. Buursma and Wilson finished one-two in the Patriot League in ERA in 2007 at 1.65 and 1.78, respectively. Wilson's innings qualified him for the national leaders, where he finished ranked eighth in Division I in ERA.
Bison Honors
- Patriot League Player of the Week: Dane Grandizio (3/4/08)
Next Up
- Bucknell is scheduled to make its 2008 home debut on Tuesday, Mar. 18, against Niagara at 3:30 p.m. on Depew Field.
