Bucknell University
Bloomsburg
Offense Powers Bucknell Baseball to 13-8 Victory Over Bloomsburg
3/25/2009 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 25, 2009
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata), Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) and Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley) each hit a home run and the first five hitters in the Bison lineup combined for 12 runs batted in as the Bucknell baseball team overcame an 8-3 deficit and won by a 13-8 count over Bloomsburg Wednesday afternoon at a breezy Depew Field.
The top five hitters in the Bison lineup combined to go 9-for-17 with 10 runs scored and 12 runs batted in. Overall, Bucknell (8-12) totaled 14 hits as it plated double-figure runs for the seventh time this year.
The Bison used six pitchers in the game with their third reliever, freshman Russell Seidell (Granville, Ohio/Granville), earning his first career win. He pitched two innings, allowed two hits and just one walk. Freshmen Jack Boehm (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) and Alex Cillo (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) followed as Bucknell's final three relievers did not allow a run over the final five innings.
Trailing 8-3 entering the bottom of the fourth, the Bison sent eight hitters to the plate and scored four runs in the frame, trimming their deficit to 8-7. Allen, who was 2-for-4 in the win, hit a two-run home run to center field that started out as a routine fly ball, but the wind pushed it out. After a double by Grandizio and a walk by Yoder, Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West) doubled to left, scoring both, including Yoder from first base.
Bucknell took the lead in the sixth when Yoder, who walked four times and scored four runs, smashed a two-run home run over the right-field fence. It was his third home run of the season.
The Bison added four insurance runs in the seventh. Pinch hitter Bob Donato (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) led off the frame with a single and then Hunter George laced a one-out single to left, his second hit of the game. After a fly out by Allen, Grandizio clubbed a three-run home run down the left-field line, making it 12-8. It was the second home run of the season for Grandizio, giving Bucknell six players with more than one round tripper this year.
Doug Shribman (Marblehead, Mass./Belmont Hill School), who posted a team-high three hits and drove in three runs, rounded out the scoring later in the seventh. With Yoder and Brouse on first and second, Shribman popped up to second. However, the wind took the ball away from Mike Austin, and the ball landed safely behind second base. Yoder scored easily, but Brouse was gunned down at home for the third out.
Bloomsburg (11-13) initially took the lead in the top of the second inning when it plated five runs on three hits and three walks off first-time Bison starter Matt Foley (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) and freshman Ryan Ebner (Reading, Pa./The Hill School).
The Huskies tacked on three more runs in the fourth when Kevin Ward smacked a long three-run home run. It was the fourth homer of the season for Ward, who entered the game hitting .475 on the year. He was 3-for-5 on Wednesday. He and Billy Phillips, who was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, accounted for five of Bloomsburg's 12 hits.
Like Bucknell, the Huskies used a number of pitchers, five to be exact. Mike Rossetti pitched 2.1 innings, as he spent the most time on the mount. Seth Pauling (0-2) was tagged with the loss as he yielded Yoder's go-ahead home run.
With his two RBIs Wednesday, Brouse increased his Patriot League-leading total to 25.
Bucknell has now won two games in a row after dropping the first three contests of a four-game series to Canisius last weekend.
The Bison, who are in the midst of a nine-game homestand, will open Patriot League play this weekend with a four-game series against Army. Doubleheaders both Saturday and Sunday will begin at 12 p.m. Sunday's twinbill will be broadcast on 90.5 WVBU and SportsJuice.com.
