Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Bucknell Baseball Splits with Lehigh, Still Alive for PL Title
4/25/2009 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 25, 2009
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Doug Shribman (Marblehead, Mass./Belmont Hill School) was 5-for-7, Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West) hit his 10th home run of the year and Chris Yamaguchi (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown South) picked up his seventh victory as the Bucknell baseball team split a doubleheader with Lehigh Saturday afternoon. The Bison won game one 7-3 and then lost game two 11-10 as the Mountain Hawks scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to erase a six-run deficit. A walk-off, three-run home run by pinch hitter Logan Marshall-Winchester off reliever Alex Cillo (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) sealed the victory for the Mountain Hawks.
With the doubleheader split, Bucknell (19-23, 11-7 PL) remains tied atop the Patriot League standings with Army (22-17, 11-7 PL), which split a doubleheader of its own at Lafayette on Saturday. The Bison need to finish in the top two in the league standings to host one of the two first-round Patriot League Tournament series. Holy Cross (9-6 PL), which claimed the first game of a twinbill against Navy, is also in the mix to finish in the top two.
Shribman (13 games) and Ben Allen (11 games) (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata) both extended long hitting streaks for Bucknell, while Brouse's 16-game streak came to an end with an 0-for-6 performance in game two. He did knock in three more runs Saturday, giving him 54 on the year, good for fourth on the Bison single-season list. His 10 home runs are tied for fourth on that ledger.
Yamaguchi, who is two wins shy of equaling Jason Buursma's single-season mark, improved to 7-1 this year as he fired his second consecutive complete game in game one. Lehigh (11-34-1, 4-12 PL) touched Yamaguchi for just seven hits and all three runs came on a three-run home run by Andrew Russell in the third. The Mountain Hawks did threaten in the fourth, advancing runners to first and second with two outs and in the sixth when they loaded the bases with two outs, but both times Yamaguchi got out of the jam. He finished with five strikeouts and his team-leading ERA now stands at 3.53.
Bucknell went on top in the first inning when Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley) walked and was followed by Brouse and Shribman, who were each hit by a pitch. Yoder then scored from third on a two-out wild pitch.
The Bison extended their lead in the third when Yoder singled home Allen and Brouse followed with a two-run shot to left.
Single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh served as insurance for the Bison. The runs in the fifth and seventh were unearned thanks to an error and a passed ball, while sacrifice flies by Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) and Bob Donato (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) in the sixth and seventh rounded out the scoring.
Andrew Berger (2-6) started for Lehigh and pitched the first five innings. The Bison recorded six hits and four earned runs off him before he was lifted for Ken Longernecker. Longernecker pitched the final two frames, permitting three hits and two runs, one of which was earned.
There were a total of five hit by pitches in the game, including two for Brouse, who was on base three times.
The middle third of the Bison lineup (Yoder, Brouse, Shribman) accounted for six of their nine hits and five of their seven runs scored.
Bucknell took a comfortable 10-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning of game two as it was looking for the sweep. However, the first four Lehigh hitters in the frame singled off reliever Ryan Ebner (Reading, Pa./The Hill School), who gave up four hits, a walk and five runs without recording an out.
Cillo (0-4) replaced Ebner with none out and the bases loaded and the Bison still ahead 10-6. He struck out the first hitter he faced, but the second (Jim McConlogue) singled to right and drove in two runs. Cillo then struck out Kevin Mihalik, but then Marshall-Winchester ended the game with his three-run shot to right-center.
Six of Lehigh's 17 hits in the game came in the ninth inning.
Bucknell used a total of five pitchers in game two with Daniel Hart (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees) and Jimmy Murphy (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) combining for 5.1 innings of one-run relief in place of starter Eric Jarrett Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore Area).
The Mountain Hawks scored three runs in the bottom of the second off Jarrett, but then the Bison scored 10 of the next 11 runs. A one-out RBI single in the third got Bucknell on the board, while Yoder drew a bases-loaded walk and Bret Sokirka (Wyoming, Pa./Wyoming Area), Brouse and Shribman each knocked in runs on fielder's choices in the fourth, giving the Bison a 5-3 cushion.
Yoder then hit his sixth home run of the season in the sixth, while Sokirka drove in two more on a single in the seventh. Allen, who was 2-for-5 and posted his team-best 20th multi-hit game of the season, also doubled home a run following Sokirka's single.
An RBI double by Shribman, who knocked in three runs in game two to elevate his season total to 35, in the top of the ninth looked to be a bonus run as the Bison lead was pushed to six (10-4).
Rob Russell (1-1) pitched the final 2.2 innings for Lehigh and gave up just four hits and one run to get the win. The Mountain Hawks needed to overcome four errors in game two, yet just one Bucknell run was unearned.
Allen, Yoder and Shribman, three of the top four hitters in the Bison lineup, combined to go 6-for-11 with four runs scored and seven RBIs.
Bucknell will close out its regular season Sunday afternoon with two more games against Lehigh. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for noon.
