Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
UMBC
Bucknell Baseball Begins Florida Trip with 18-6 Victory Over UMBC
3/14/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 14, 2010
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - B.J. LaRosa (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal) was 3-for-5 with three runs scored, a home run and four runs batted in and Bucknell batted around in both the fourth and fifth innings as the Bison opened their Spring Break trip to Florida with an easy 18-6 victory over UMBC on a breezy Sunday evening. Bucknell scored 14 of its 18 runs in the fourth and fifth innings and it evened its season record at 6-6.
The Bison sent 11 hitters to the plate and scored six runs in the fourth inning. Bucknell totaled six hits and capitalized on back-to-back walks by Doug Shribman (Marblehead, Mass./Belmont Hill) and Scott Reed (Reston, Va./South Lakes) to start the frame. Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley) had an RBI double in the inning, while LaRosa, Shribman and Duffett had RBI singles. Reed's walk was the final batter for UMBC (0-6) starter Marty Zawacki, who fell to 0-2 and yielded six runs on three hits in 3.0+ innings.
Thirteen more Bison hitters came to the plate in the fifth inning as UMBC committed two of their three errors. The big hit in the inning was a two-run single by LaRosa, while David Duffett (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) also drove in a pair with a double. Bucknell's first seven hitters in the inning reached on two errors, four straight singles and a hit by pitch.
Trey Frahler (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) picked up the win for the Bison on the mound as he pitched five innings, scattered 10 hits and yielded four runs. He struck out six and walked three to improve to 2-1 on the season. Relievers Matt Foley (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) and Marcus Garone (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) did not allow a hit in three combined innings of relief, while Matt Busch (Roseville, Minn./Roseville) was touched for three hits and a pair of unearned runs in the ninth when darkness settled upon Chain of Lakes Stadium.
Bucknell initially took a 3-0 lead in the second inning on a deep home run to right field by Reed. It was Reed's first career home run. It marked the first of four consecutive innings the Bison scored. LaRosa followed with a solo home run in the fourth to stake Bucknell to a 4-0 advantage. LaRosa's homer came after the first two hitters in the inning had been retired and it landed safely over the right-center field fence.
After scoring 18 runs in a four-inning span, the Bison managed just one hit over the final four innings against four different Retrievers relievers. In fact, the UMBC bullpen retired Bucknell in order in three of the final four frames. In all, UMBC used seven different pitchers, and only two yielded more than one run.
A total of 18 position players appeared in the game for the Bison as 29th-year head coach Gene Depew substituted liberally in the final innings. All nine starters finished with at least one hit and one run scored. Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata), Yoder, Drew Constable (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) and Duffett registered two hits apiece to join with LaRosa to give the team five players with multi-hit days. Both Reed and Duffett drove in three runs, while Allen and Yoder each posted a pair of RBIs.
Shribman and Yoder both extended their hitting streaks to 11 games, while LaRosa, who improved his team-best batting average to .535, saw his balloon to 10. Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West) has hit in eight consecutive contests.
With his six strikeouts Sunday, Frahler moved his team-high total to 24. He is now more than halfway to his 2009 figure of 43. He is also just one win shy of double figures for his career.
Bucknell's bullpen has now allowed just 16 earned runs in 45.1 innings this season. The Bison have also committed just nine errors, compared to 24 for their opponents.
UMBC totaled 13 hits in Sunday's game and five Retrievers posted multi-hit contests. Zawacki, who was making his first career start in the batting order while also being on the mound, drove in three of the team's six runs.
UMBC, which left 11 runners on base, did score in three different innings, just one fewer than the Bison.
Bucknell has eight regulars hitting above .300 this year, and as a team the Bison are hitting at a .328 clip.
Bucknell will try to win for the seventh time in its last nine games Monday at 10 a.m. when it takes on North Dakota State at Henley Field. The Bison are scheduled to play seven games in seven days during their weeklong trip to Florida.
