Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Central Michigan
Bucknell Baseball Falls for Only Second Time on Florida Trip
3/13/2009 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 13, 2009
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Bucknell's Andrew Brouse extended his hitting streak to seven games with a two-run double in the sixth inning and the Bison baseball team scored another run in the seventh, but was unable to overcome an early four-run deficit as it lost to Central Michigan 5-4 on Friday at Chain of Lakes Park. It was just the second loss in six games for Bucknell during its week-long trip to Florida.
Trey Frahler (1-3) started on the mound for the Bison (4-9) and yielded five runs, seven hits and four walks in 5.1 innings of work. The Bucknell bullpen then held the Chippewas scoreless over the final 2.2 innings, with Michael Dallanegra, Andrew Clarke and Russell Seidell combining to get the final eight outs.
After going down 1-2-3 in the first inning, Central Michigan (5-9) plated two runs in the second with a solo home run to left by Nate Theunissen and an RBI double by eighth-place hitter William Arnold accounting for both runs.
Bucknell quickly responded in the top of the third with a run of its own. With Bret Sokirka on third, Ben Allen attempted a steal of second base. The Chippewas' catcher threw down to second to get Allen, but the second baseman (Ricky Clark) cut the throw off and tried to get Sokirka at home. Clark's throw sailed high and rolled to the backstop and Sokirka easily slid in for the first run of the game for the Bison.
Central Michigan added one more in the fourth when Sam Russell rolled a bunt in between first base and the pitcher's mound with runner's on first and third. The Chippewas then extended their lead to 5-1 in the fifth when Theunissen tripled home a run and later scored on a fielder's choice.
Brouse, who now has a team-high 18 RBIs this season and is just two shy of his total from all of 2008, brought Bucknell to within 5-3 with a two-run double to left field in the sixth. Ben Yoder and Dane Grandizio, who each had one-out singles, scored on the hit.
The Bison tallied their final run in the top of the seventh thanks to the second of two errors by Central Michigan. Shortstop William Arnold tried to backhand a routine grounder off the bat of Andrew Loucks, giving the Bison first and second with none out as Bob Donato led off the frame with a single to left. After a sacrifice bunt by Kevin Drozin moved the runners up, Sokirka skied a fly ball to center, scoring Donato from third.
Trailing by just one run, Bucknell went down 1-2-3 in both the eighth and ninth innings.
Central Michigan's Steve Teno (1-2), who entered the game with an ERA of 6.46, pitched a complete-game six-hitter. He had four strikeouts and yielded just a pair of earned runs.
The Bison wrap up their Spring Break trip on Saturday against Connecticut in Lakeland at 4 p.m.
