Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Bucknell Baseball Splits with Lehigh to Wrap up No. 4 Seed in PL Tournament
4/27/2008 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 27, 2008
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell baseball team secured a spot in the Patriot League tournament on Sunday against Lehigh, splitting its final doubleheader of the regular season. In game one, senior right-hander Mathew Wilson (Toronto, Ontario/Northern S.S.) improved to 3-0 against league foes, helping lead the Bison to a 7-4 win over the Mountain Hawks (23-27, 7-13 PL). The Orange and Blue dropped game two, 13-8, but saw senior Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School) break a school record with his 22nd career home run. Bucknell is now 22-21-2 on the season, 10-10 in league play, and will face No. 1-seed Army in the first round of the PL tournament.
Bucknell began game one trailing, 3-0. In the top of the first, a two-run single by Liam O'Connor plated Mark Bernhard and Brendan McGaheran. Then in the second, Christian Valeriano led off with a single to left and Joe Ercolano drove him in with a double to right.
In their next turn at-bat, the Bison struck for five runs on six hits to pull in front, 5-3. Buursma began the frame with an infield hit and sophomore Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West) knocked him in with a one-out single up the middle. After senior Chris Pieper (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber) reached with a single and classmate Ed Rubbo (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) was hit by a pitch, Hirsch brought in Brouse and Pieper with a single through the right side. With two down, sophomore Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley) and junior Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) connected for back-to-back RBI singles that brought home Rubbo and Hirsch for the team's fourth and fifth runs.
Lehigh managed to pull to within 5-4 in the fifth as McGaheran reached on an error and Andrew Russell tripled to send him home. Wilson stranded the runner on third to halt the rally as he retired the next three batters in order, including a strikeout to Valeriano to end the inning.
That would be as close as the Mountain Hawks would come as Bucknell extended its lead to three in the bottom of the sixth courtesy of a two-run single by Yoder that brought in Rubbo and sophomore Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata).
Wilson went the distance for the Orange and Blue to pick up the win (4-1). He allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Andrew Berger started and took the loss (2-6) for Lehigh. He worked 1.2 innings and surrendered five runs on six hits with no walks and two strikeouts.
In game two, the Mountain Hawks began with a run in the first to take a 1-0 lead as Ercolano led off the game with a double and crossed the plate on an RBI single by Russell.
The Bison responded with two in the bottom of the second. Rubbo made Billy Alec pay for back-to-back walks to Brouse and sophomore John Avanzino (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset) with a two-run double down the left field line. Then in the third, the squad added another after Yoder singled, went to third on a two-base error and scored on a wild pitch.
After the squads played a scoreless fourth inning, Lehigh broke the game open with five runs on five hits in the fourth, two more in the sixth and five on five hits again in the seventh for a 13-3 advantage.
Bucknell fought back in its next turn at-bat, scoring three runs via two-out hits. Rubbo singled with one gone in the frame, while four consecutive two-out singles by Allen, Yoder, Grandizio and Buursma yielded three runs, with Yoder, Grandizio and Buursma collecting an RBI apiece. The Bison threatened for more as the next batter, senior Mark Angelo (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Brouse, but Jordan Warncke struck him out to end the threat.
The Orange and Blue went on to add two more in the ninth on Buursma's record-breaking 22nd career home run, which he blasted to left field. Buursma had previously tied the record of 21 held by Roger Ahrens and Tyler Prout this past Monday against Navy that had stood since Prout pulled even with Ahrens' total in 2000. He has now claimed sole possession of third on the single season list as well, as the latest shot was his 11th homer of the year.
Freshman Dylan Seeley (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) suffered the setback (3-2) for Bucknell after surrendering six runs on eight hits with one walk and one strikeout in 4.1 innings. Alec logged the win (2-1) for the Mountain Hawks. He gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts, working 6.1 innings in the contest.
Yoder went 5-for-9 in the doubleheader to lead the Bison at the plate, racking up four RBI and three runs scored. Buursma followed with a 4-for-8 performance and finished the day with three RBI and two runs scored.
O'Connor drove in a squad-best four runs for Lehigh, while Ercolano and Russell led the team in hits, batting 4-for-7 and 4-for-8, respectively.
Bucknell will next travel to West Point, N.Y., for the Patriot League tournament semifinal round on Sat., May 10, where the No. 4-seeded Bison will battle the No. 1-seeded Black Knights in a best-of-three series.
