Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Army
Bucknell Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Army
3/29/2009 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 29, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - One day after sweeping a doubleheader from Army behind two outstanding pitching performances, the Bucknell baseball team received two more strong outings from their starting pitchers and split a doubleheader with the Black Knights on Sunday at a damp Depew Field. The Bison saw their four-game winning streak come to an end with a 9-2 loss in game one, but bounced back with a 7-5 win in a shortened game two.
An eight-run seventh inning by Army (9-11, 1-3 Patriot League) ruined a masterful start by Eric Jarrett (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore) in the first game.
Game two, which had its start delayed by more than an hour due to rain, and had a pair of lightning delays that totaled 30 minutes, was called due to darkness shortly before 7 p.m. after the Black Knights batted in top half of the seventh. Bison starter Dylan Seeley (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) (1-3) earned his first win of the year as he scattered five hits and struck out three over his six-plus innings of work. Bucknell held on for the win after leading 6-2 after the second inning.
Jarrett was locked in a pitcher's duel with Army starter Ben Koenigsfeld in the first game as Army led 1-0 entering the top of the seventh of the seven-inning contest. Bucknell's only hit to that point was a leadoff single in the first by Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata), who was later erased on a double play. In fact, Koenigsfeld faced just one batter over the minimum through six innings.
Jarrett retired Army in order four times in the first six frames, but the Black Knights managed to push a run across in the fourth when J.P. Polchinski was hit by a pitch with two outs and the bases loaded. The Black Knights had loaded the bases on a leadoff single by Zach Price and walks by David Darnell and Koenigsfeld.
Army nearly went up 2-0 in the sixth, but leftfielder Bob Donato (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) gunned down Clint Moore at the plate after a single by Koenigsfeld.
The Black Knights knocked Jarrett from the game in the seventh with a single followed by two walks with a sacrifice bunt sandwiched in between. Freshman Alex Cillo (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) came in, but a one-run single by Darnell and back-to-back two-run doubles by Moore and Joey Henshaw broke the game open. Cillo did strike out Koenigsfeld, but was lifted from the game after issuing a two-out walk to Polchinski. Senior Jimmy Murphy (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) came on and gave up a three-run home run to Kyle Fleming before getting Andy Ernesto, the 11th hitter in the inning, to fly out to left. All told, Army scored eight runs on five hits in the frame.
Bucknell finally got to Koenigsfeld in the bottom of the seventh with two runs on three hits and an error. Donato led off with a single to left. After a fly out by Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg), Andrew Brouse singled to second base. Price made a good stop, but his throw was late and sailed wide, allowing Brouse and Donato to be in scoring position for Doug Shribman, who knocked them in with a single up the middle.
The Bison managed just four hits in game one, but bounced back with 10 hits in game two as they jumped out to an early 6-2 lead. Four straight hitters (Brouse, Shribman, Andrew Loucks, Zachary Brown) had RBIs in the first inning, helping Bucknell to a 4-1 advantage. Brouse's RBI was his team-high 29th of the year, while Shribman, who knocked in three runs Sunday, now has 21.
An RBI double by Grandizio, who later scored thanks to two wild pitches by Army starter Kirk Porter, gave the Bison their comfortable early lead.
Army's first two runs off Seeley came via sacrifice flies. Seeley allowed just three hits over the first three innings. The Black Knights' offense got going in the fourth when Henshaw, Koenigsfeld and Fleming had back-to-back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. Seeley settled down and retired the next three hitters, helping Bucknell hold onto its 6-3 advantage.
With runners on first and third and two outs in the bottom of the fourth and Loucks at the plate for Bucknell, lightning was detected, forcing an 18-minute delay. When play resumed, he struck out against relief pitcher Tyler Anderegg, who proceeded to retire five in a row.
Bucknell added an insurance run in the sixth when Grandizio singled home Donato from second base. Donato had hit a single down the left field line and advanced to second when the ball got past Fleming.
Army closed the gap with two runs in the top of the seventh and had the tying run at the plate, but reliever Sean Driscoll (Colts Neck, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) got Joey Henshaw to line out to short to end the rally. The umpires then called the game due to darkness with the score 7-5.
Donato, Grandizio, Shribman and Brown each had two hits in the nightcap for Bucknell (11-13, 3-1 PL), which overcame four errors to win for the fifth time in six games.
Bucknell is now 14-5 against Army since 2006 and has won three of four during the regular season opposite the Black Knights for the second consecutive year.
Prior to the doubleheader, 28th-year Bison head coach Gene Depew was given a plaque to commemorate his 500th career win, which he earned earlier this month against Bowling Green. Depew coached in his 1,100th career game on Sunday.
The Bison, who were 5-4 on their recently completed nine-game homestand, will hit the road for the only time in a three-week span this Tuesday, March 31, when they play at Penn State. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m. and live audio of the contest will be broadcast on 90.5 WVBU and on SportsJuice.com.
