Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lafayette
Bucknell Baseball Swept by Lafayette, 4-3 & 13-4
4/4/2009 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 4, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - On a chilly and blustery Saturday afternoon at Depew Field, the Bucknell baseball team was swept in a doubleheader by Lafayette. The Bison dropped game one 4-3 as the Leopards scored two runs in the top of the seventh. Lafayette then plated at least two runs in four separate innings in the nightcap to defeat Bucknell 13-4.
Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West), who leads the Patriot League with 35 runs batted in this year, highlighted the two games for the Bison as he was a combined 4-for-5 with three RBIs. He posted three hits, including a two-run home run, in game two.
Bucknell (11-16, 3-3 Patriot League) led most of the way in game one until Lafayette (12-14, 3-3 PL) plated a tying run in the top of the sixth and then two more in the top of the seventh.
The Leopards tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Justin Shepherd off reliever Russell Seidell (Granville, Ohio/Granville), who saw his scoreless streak snapped at 6.1 innings.
Bucknell, which was tied or had the lead at the conclusion of every inning except the seventh, retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Bob Donato (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) led off with a single. He promptly stole second and advanced to third when backup catcher Ian McCutcheon's throw went well to the first-base side of second. After a walk to Zachary Brown (Stroudsburg, Pa./Notre Dame), B.J. LaRosa (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal) singled home Donato for the go-ahead run.
Alex Cillo (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) (0-3), who retired the two batters he faced in the sixth, was on the mound in the seventh for the Bison. Rob Froio led off with a double and moved to third on a grounder to the right side by A.J. Pisarri. A walk to Daniel Bierce set up a first-and-third with one out situation, meaning a double play would end the game. Cillo got cleanup hitter Jeff Butler to ground to third, but Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley), who was playing for the first time in a week, committed an error, allowing Froio to score the tying run. A walk to Brad Weiss loaded the bases with Matt Hall knocking in the eventual winning run with a ground out to second.
Bucknell had a chance to at least tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, but came up a little short. The first two hitters reached on errors, including Brouse, who was sacrifice bunting, but reached when he avoided the first baseman's tag. Doug Shribman (Marblehead, Mass./Belmont Hill School) tried to bunt the two runners over to scoring position, but pitcher Brian Mostek fielded the bunt and got the lead runner at third for the first out. He proceeded to retire two of the next three hitters, including LaRosa with the bases loaded for the final out.
Bucknell took its initial lead in the third inning when Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) hit a two-out triple to right that the wind took away from Hall and toward the foul line. Grandizio later scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the game. Two batters later Brouse knocked in Yoder from first with a single to right center. Yoder had been running with the pitch and scored easily.
Trey Frahler (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) got the start on the mound for Bucknell, but left one batter into the fifth inning with what appeared to be a minor injury. He limited Lafayette to just five hits and one earned run. Seidell and Cillo combined for pitch the final 2.2 innings.
Bucknell nearly took a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth when Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata) smacked a long fly ball to right with two outs and two runners on base. However, Hall caught the ball right at the wall with his glove disappearing behind the wall momentarily.
Mostek earned the win for the Leopards as he pitched the final two innings in relief of starter Zach Fritz. Mostek yielded just one hit and he struck out four during his time in the game.
In game two, Lafayette scored at least two runs in four different innings and it was aided by a two-run home run by A.J. Miller in the fourth and a three-run shot by Alex Bechta in the sixth.
Brouse staked Bucknell to a 2-0 lead in the first with his fifth home run of the year, tying him with Yoder for team-high honors.
Outside of the fifth inning when they plated their other two runs on an RBI double by Allen and a wild pitch that enabled Allen to score from third, the Bison advanced just one runner as far as third base the rest of the game.
Chris Yamaguchi (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown Sout) (4-1), who was second in the Patriot League in ERA entering the weekend, started and logged 5.1 innings. He scattered eight hits and allowed eight earned runs. Bechta's home run knocked Yamaguchi from the game. Prior to that hit, the score was 5-4, as Yamaguchi kept the Bison within striking distance.
Bucknell committed four errors in game two, including three in the final two innings that permitted four unearned runs to be score. A total of 11 errors were committed in the doubleheader by the two teams as they had to contend with difficult winds and chilly temperatures throughout.
Allen joined Brouse with a strong day at the plate for Bucknell as he was 3-for-9 with two runs scored and one run batted in the doubleheader. He and Brouse accounted for five of the team's six hits in game two.
Hall and Weiss combined to go 7-for-9 with six runs scored and two RBIs in game two for the Leopards.
Bucknell will try to snap its three-game losing streak when it hosts Lafayette in another doubleheader on Sunday at Depew Field. First pitch is slated for 12 p.m. Prior to game one, the Bison's eight seniors will be recognized during Senior Day ceremonies.
