Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Holy Cross
Bucknell Baseball Completes Series at Holy Cross with Doubleheader Split
4/13/2009 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 13, 2009
WORCESTER, Mass. - Bucknell starter Eric Jarrett (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore) limited Holy Cross to three runs in 5.2 innings and the Bison broke open a 3-2 game when they exploded for eight runs in the top of the sixth inning as they won game one of a doubleheader Monday at Fitton Field by a 10-5 score. Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West) had a two-run home run in each end of the twinbill for Bucknell, which lost game two 11-7, coming up just short of a four-game series sweep of the Crusaders.
Brouse, who was 1-for-4 with a pair of RBIs in game one and 2-for-5 with three more RBIs in game two, now has eight home runs and 47 RBIs this season. The junior ranks eighth on the Bison single-season home run list and sixth on the RBI ledger.
Holy Cross starter Bobby Holmes (0-6) shut down the Bison early in game one as he retired the first eight hitters, and nine of the first 10. Bucknell scored single runs in the fourth and fifth inning off Holmes as Holy Cross committed three of its five errors in those two frames.
The Crusaders plated single runs in the second (home run by John Sills) and third (RBI single by Eric Oxford) of Jarrett (1-2), who permitted six hits, three walks and three runs working two outs into the sixth of the seven-inning contest. They added one more in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead.
Holy Cross clung to that one-run advantage heading into the sixth, but the Bison sent 13 hitters to the plate against four Holy Cross pitchers and ended the inning with an insurmountable 10-3 cushion. Those 13 hitters combined for eight runs on nine hits. The big blow in the frame that featured three extra base hits was a two-run home run by Brouse. Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata) and Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) recorded two-run doubles, while B.J. LaRosa (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal) and Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley) each had run-scoring singles. Nine straight hitters reached base at one point, with eight of them collecting a hit.
Jarrett retired the first two hitters in the sixth on fly outs, but the next three reached, loading the bases. Reliever Sean Driscoll (Colts Neck, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) came on and got out of the jam, inducing a ground ball for the third out.
The Crusaders added two runs in the bottom of the seventh off Driscoll, but Alex Cillo (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) came on and struck out the final two hitters to clinch a third consecutive win for the Bison.
Each of Bucknell's nine starters produced at least one hit in game one with Doug Shribman's (Marblehead, Mass./Belmont Hill) 3-for-4 performance. The top four hitters in the lineup (Allen, Grandizio, Yoder, Brouse) knocked in two runs apiece.
Bucknell (15-19, 7-5 PL), which is averaging nearly seven runs per game this year, was going to need its offense in game two as the Crusaders scored four runs in each of the first two innings to take an 8-0 lead. Bison starter Dylan Seeley (2-4) was knocked from the game two hitters into the second inning.
Holy Cross (13-20, 5-5 PL) added single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but Bucknell reliever Daniel Hart shut the Crusaders down over the final three frames, not allowing a hit and striking out five over that span.
After registering just one hit against starter Nate Koneski (2-2) over the first three innings, Bucknell plated four runs in the fourth, making the score 9-4. Brouse hit his second home run of the day, while Drew Constable (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) registered a run-scoring double and LaRosa also knocked in his second run of the doubleheader.
Bucknell was retired in order in the fifth and sixth before scoring three more times in the seventh. A two-out single by Brouse knocked home Allen, while Shribman, who was 5-for-8 in the doubleheader and 9-for-16 in the four-game series, followed with a two-run double, rounding out the scoring.
Brouse, Shribman and Constable each had two hits in the nightcap, while Andrew Loucks (Mississauga, Ontario/Appleby College) led the way with a 3-for-5 performance. He is now hitting a team-best .378.
By taking three of four from Holy Cross in the weekend series that was delayed one day due to Saturday's rain, Bucknell is now tied for first place in the Patriot League standings with Lafayette. The Bison and Leopards, who beat Lehigh 9-8 on Monday, have matching 7-5 league records. Army and Navy, which split their doubleheader on Monday, are close behind with 6-6 records.
Bucknell, which just completed a five-game road trip with a 3-2 record, will return home for a single non-league game against Towson on Wednesday at Depew Field. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.
