Bucknell University
St. Bonaventure
Bucknell Baseball Drops Two Games at St. Bonaventure, 7-3 & 6-5
4/20/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 20, 2010
OLEAN, N.Y. - Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West) hit his Bucknell-record breaking 25th career home run in game two, but the Bucknell baseball team lost a pair of games at St. Bonaventure Tuesday afternoon at Fred Handler Field. The Bison lost game one 7-3 as the Bonnies scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. In game two, Bucknell took a 3-0 lead in game one, but St. Bonaventure plated five runs in the second and third innings to post a second straight come-from-behind victory after holding off a seventh-inning Bison rally.
Brouse, who now has a Patriot League-high 12 home runs this year, hit his record-breaking home run leading off the fifth inning to bring Bucknell to within 5-4. His 25 home runs are one more than previous record holder and former teammate Jason Buursma. Brouse was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI in game two after.
Russell Seidell started game one on the mound for the Bison and was strong one out into the fifth inning, holding St. Bonaventure (10-20) scoreless until the sixth. He allowed just two hits and walked five over the first five innings as Bucknell held a 3-0 lead. After retiring the first hitter in the sixth, Seidell gave up a double and a walk before giving way to Daniel Hart (1-3).
Hart faced five hitters in the sixth and yielded five hits. The big blows in the inning were a two-run double by Ryan Skellie and a two-run triple by Derek Speaker that knocked Hart from the game. A single by pinch hitter Nick Cunliffe off Hart gave the Bonnies the lead at 4-3. A total of 13 St. Bonaventure hitters stepped to the plate in the inning.
Bucknell (17-25) scored a run in the second inning when Matt Lamore doubled and then scored on a Gerald Runyan single. The next inning Doug Shribman hit a two-out, two-run home run, his ninth of the year.
After Shribman's home run the Bison managed two hits against starter Robert Nalepa (2-2) and relievers Jamie Wallschlaeger and Cory Sudbrook over the final four innings.
Despite giving up the late lead in game one, Bucknell rebounded with a strong start in game two as it scored three runs in the top of the first inning off Wallschlaeger. The Bison had five of their 11 hits in that frame with Bob Donato driving in two runs with a single and Scott Reed knocking in one with a double.
Eric Jarrett (0-1) started the game for Bucknell and retired the side in the first, but yielded a three-run home run to Austin Ingraham in the second and a two-run double to Billy Urban in the third. The Bonnies added a much-needed insurance run in the fifth when Urban reached on an error by third baseman Robb Scott and later scored on a ground out.
Bucknell entered the seventh, and final, inning trailing 6-4, but threatened as four players reached base against Urban, who picked up his second save of the season. Pinch hitter B.J. LaRosa, who had two hits in game one, led off the seventh with a walk. Brouse followed with a double, while a Shribman intentional walk loaded the bases with none out. A ground out by Donato brought the Bison to within one. The bases became loaded again when Drozin drew an intentional walk, bringing Reed to the plate with one out and the tying run on third base. However, Reed and pinch hitter Travis Clark both struck out, ending the game.
Ben Allen had a hit in both ends of the doubleheader, extending his hitting streak to a team-high eight games. Donato had a solid twinbill, going 3-for-7 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
Bucknell, which is outscoring its opponents 72-61 in the first two innings of games, has now held the lead at some point in nine of its last 10 losses.
Bucknell will be back in action Wednesday afternoon when it hosts Maryland Eastern Shore at 3:30 p.m. at Depew Field.
