Bucknell University Athletics
Former Bucknell Baseball Player Matt Daley Earns First Major League Victory
9/10/2009 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sept. 10, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Former Bucknell baseball player Matt Daley earned his first Major League Baseball victory Wednesday night for the Colorado Rockies against the Cincinnati Reds. Daley, a relief pitcher who retired four of the five hitters he faced, improved to 1-1 this season as the Rockies won 4-3 on a walk-off, two-run single by Seth Smith in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Daley, a 2004 graduate of Bucknell, entered the game with the scored tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases loaded. He proceeded to strike out Brandon Phillips to end the frame. Daley, who is 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA this year, remained on the mound in the ninth inning. He yielded a solo home run to Scott Rolen leading off the inning, but retired the final three hitters, including two by strikeout.
The single by Smith in the bottom of the ninth helped Daley earn his first career win, and the first by a former Bison hurler since Eric Junge won a pair of games in 2002 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Daley, who has allowed just two earned runs in his last eight appearances, has 43 strikeouts in 42.2 innings of relief. He has yielded just 34 hits and walked 15 hitters, while opponents have recorded a .221 batting average.
A native of Garden City, N.Y., Daley was an Academic All-District selection as a senior at Bucknell when he produced a 6-2 record with a 2.82 ERA. He went more than 30 innings without allowing an earned run that season and finished with 49 strikeouts in 51 innings. The right-hander was a member of two Patriot League championship teams while a Bison.
Daley and the Rockies will wrap up a four-game series with the Reds Thursday afternoon in Denver.
