Bucknell University
Holy Cross
Bucknell Baseball Opens Patriot League Home Slate with Doubleheader Split vs. Holy Cross
4/10/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 10, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - An impressive start by Trey Frahler in game one and a pair of home runs by Andrew Brouse highlighted the Bucknell baseball team's first home Patriot League doubleheader of the season on Saturday as the Bison split with Holy Cross at sunny Depew Field. Bucknell won game one 4-3 behind Frahler's 6.2 strong innings of work. The Crusaders earned the split with a 6-4 victory in the nightcap.
Brouse hit an inside-the-park home run in game one and a traditional home run in game two, upping his Patriot League-leading total to nine. He now has 22 home runs in his career, just two shy of equaling the program record. He was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs on the day.
Frahler, who evened his record at 3-3, was the story of game one. He got two outs into the seventh inning of the seven-inning game one and had allowed just six hits and one run. The Crusaders finally got to him with two straight infield hits and then a two-run double by Nick Ciardiello knocked him from the game. Daniel Hart came in with Ciardiello representing the tying run on second base and struck out Steve Tkowski to end the game and earn his first save of the year.
Frahler, whose ERA went down more than a half-run on Saturday, struck out two and walked three in his 6.2 innings of work. He had a shutout through 5.1 innings of work. A third-inning diving catch by Drew Constable in left field with a runner on third and two outs preserved the shutout for a few extra innings, while a pitcher-catcher-first base double play in the fourth with the bases loaded got Frahler out of his biggest jam of the day.
Ben Allen collected two of Bucknell's five hits in game one and had a hand in each of the team's first three runs. He helped the Bison take a 2-0 third-inning lead. In fact, his RBI triple to deep right-center broke up Nate Koneski's no-hitter. Allen proceeded to score the second run on a sacrifice fly by Ben Yoder. Two innings later his single to right plated Bob Donato from second. Allen circled the bases to third as right fielder Jack Laurendeau misplayed the grounder as he looked up to see where Donato was.
An inside-the-park home run by Brouse in the sixth proved to be an important insurance run. He hit a deep fly ball that kept carrying and the Crusader outfielders had a difficult time tracking. The ball caromed off the fence about 30 feet and he raced around third, easily beating the relay throw home.
Despite suffering his second loss of the year, Koneski (4-2) had a solid outing, pitching a complete game and allowing just five hits and four runs. He struck out four and walked one.
Both starters in game two went deep into the contest as well. Bucknell starter Dylan Seeley (2-3) worked one batter into the eighth inning, while Holy Cross' Matt Croglio (1-2) lasted one out into the seventh. Despite the length from the starters, the offenses were stronger in game two, combining for 20 hits.
Holy Cross went up 1-0 with an unearned run in the second and then retook the lead with three runs in the fourth as four out of five batters posted hits against Seeley, who yielded 10 hits during his 7.0 innings.
Matt Lamore, who was 3-for-4 with a home run and a pair of RBIs, drove in Doug Shribman with an RBI single in the second and Andrew Brouse recorded an RBI single one inning later, giving the Bison a 2-1 edge, their only lead of game two.
Brouse's home run leading off the sixth made it 5-3 Holy Cross, while Lamore led off the seventh with a home run to cut the deficit to 5-4. However, Holy Cross closer Ryan George, who owns an ERA of under 1.00 this year and has five saves, retired all seven hitters he faced, including coaxing a double-play grounder from B.J. LaRosa to end the seventh. It was the first hitter he faced and stopped a first-and-second with one out rally.
Yoder and Brouse each had two hits in game two, combining with Lamore for seven of Bucknell's nine hits. Lamore also pitched 1.1 innings and allowed just one run and one hit and struck out two.
The 5-6-7 hitters in the Holy Cross lineup, Matt Perry, Steven Tkowski, and Stephen Wadsworth, were a combined 7-for-14 with three RBI's and four runs scored in game two. Tkowski was 5-for-9 in the doubleheader, while Wadsworth was 4-for-7.
Bucknell and Holy Cross will wrap up their four-game series with another doubleheader on Sunday at 12 p.m. A live audio broadcast of both games will be available on 90.5 WVBU and SportsJuice.com.
