Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Holy Cross
Bucknell Baseball Takes Opener, 8-4, Bows to Holy Cross, 8-0, in Game Two
4/12/2008 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 12, 2008
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Senior Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School) tied a career high with nine strikeouts as the Bucknell baseball team logged an 8-4 victory over Holy Cross in game one, but his 3-for-4 performance at the plate was not enough in game two as the Bison fell to the Crusaders, 8-0. With the split, Bucknell is now 15-16 on the season, 5-5 in Patriot League play, while Holy Cross sits at 14-17, 7-3 in the PL.
The Bison opened game one with a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, junior Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) sent a one-out double down the left field line, stole third and scored on an error for the first run of the day. Then in the second, seniors Shawn Hirsch (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) and Ed Rubbo (Stafford, Va./Colonial forge) reached with back-to-back singles before Hirsch came home on an error and Rubbo crossed the plate on an infield hit by sophomore Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley).
In the top of the fourth, the Crusaders managed to get on the board to pull within two. Jake Gorman led off with a triple to center field and Eric Oxford brought him in with a sacrifice fly.
Bucknell took the run back in the fifth as sophomore Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West) ripped his seventh double of the season to left center and, after Hirsch drew a walk, Rubbo plated Brouse with an RBI single.
Holy Cross once again made it a two-run ballgame in the sixth, managing to eke out a run against Buursma, who posted three strikeouts in the frame. Brendan Akashian and Gil Gomez began the inning with two straight singles. Then with two down, John Sills drove in Akashian with a single to right. Buursma then escaped further damage by fanning Billy Cupelo.
The Bison broke the game open with four runs on five this in their next turn at-bat. Singles by sophomore Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata) and Yoder yielded the first for the Orange and Blue, with Yoder collecting an RBI and Allen scoring his team-leading 26th run of the year. Senior Mark Angelo (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) brought in Yoder with a single to center and sophomore John Avanzino (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset) drove home Angelo for his 28th RBI of the season, a squad best, with a double off the left field fence. Junior Hunter George (Ross, Calif./The Branson School), who pinch ran for Avanzino, came across for the final Bucknell run, on a sacrifice fly by Brouse.
In the top of the seventh, Matt Perry reached on a fielder's choice and scored on a Bison error, while Gorman doubled and Akashian knocked him in with a single up the middle, bringing the final to 8-4.
Buursma picked up his fifth win (5-1) of the season for the Orange and Blue, throwing all seven innings and allowing four runs on 11 hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. Matt Shapiro was dealt his first loss (3-1) of the season as he gave up six runs, two earned, on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts in five innings of work.
All nine Bucknell batters contributed to the team's total of 12 hits, with Yoder, Grandizio and Rubbo leading the way with two apiece. Yoder also drove in two runs and scored one.
In game two the Bison offense couldn't quite manage to get things going, however, as the team was held scoreless for just the second time in 33 games this season.
The Crusaders began with a three-run first and never looked back. Back-to-back walks to Brendan McCrea and Akashian proved costly as Oxford brought in the first run with an RBI double and Sills plated a pair with a single to center.
A two-out solo home run by Gomez in the third brought the score to 4-0, while RBI singles by McCrea in the fourth and Perry in the fifth added two more to Holy Cross' total.
Perry collected another RBI single in the seventh before Nick Ciardello capped off the scoring with a homer to left field in the top of the ninth.
Bucknell's powerful offense, which has combined for a .314 average on the season, was held to just five hits, all singles. Three of the base knocks came off the bat of Buursma, who finished game two with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate. Senior Chris Pieper (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber) and Allen contributed the remaining two hits for the Orange and Blue.
Oxford and Ciardello headed up the attack for the Crusaders, both going 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored apiece.
Freshman Eric Jarrett (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore) started for the Bison and took the loss (4-3), allowing six runs, five earned, on nine hits with three walks and two strikeouts over five innings on the mound. Bobby Holmes logged the complete game shutout for Holy Cross, scattering five hits with one walk and three strikeouts to level his record at 3-3.
The teams will be back in action tomorrow, Apr. 13, closing out the series with the weekend's second doubleheader, beginning at noon on Depew Field.
