Bucknell University
Keystone
Ninth-Inning Walk-Off Single by Brouse Lifts Bucknell Baseball to 9-8 Victory Over Keystone
4/27/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 27, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - A bouncing single through the left side of a drawn-in infield by Andrew Brouse completed a three-run ninth inning as the Bucknell baseball team came back from a late deficit to defeat Keystone 9-8 Tuesday afternoon at a windy Depew Field. The win was the 20th of the season for the Bison, who have now reached that milestone three consecutive years.
Keystone led 8-6 entering the ninth inning and it brought on a new pitcher in Victor Lara (0-1). Lara struck out the first Bison hitter he faced, but the next five reached base, culminating in Brouse's one-out walk-off single. A line-drive single to center by Bob Donato got the rally started, while Ben Allen, B.J. LaRosa and Ben Yoder followed with walks. The tying run came home on a balk by Lara early in Brouse's at bat.
The game-winning single was the first of the day for Brouse, who now has 47 RBIs this season and 125 in his career, good for fourth on the Bucknell career list.
The Bison faced a two-run deficit earlier in the game and fought back to tie the score at 6-6 with a pair of runs in the seventh inning. David Duffett and Donato led off the inning with back-to-back hits and later scored on a sac fly by Allen and a ground out by LaRosa.
Keystone retook the lead in the eighth inning as its first three hitters reached base on a walk, single and hit by pitch. Michael Dallanegra came into the game with one run already in and none out and proceeded to retire the next three hitters in order, yielding just one run on a sacrifice fly to right field.
Weekend starter Steve Carlin (2-4) got the win in relief as he pitched a scoreless top of the ninth. He allowed singles to the first two hitters in the frame, but got the next three outs rather easily, not allowing the Giants to tack on any insurance runs.
Keystone (20-7), which had won 13 of its last 14 games, went on top with a run in the first inning, but Bucknell plated three of its own in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff triple by Allen that rolled into the right field corner, LaRosa singled him home. Three batters later Doug Shribman lofted a single into short right-center, scoring LaRosa and Yoder, who had singled to left.
The Bison tacked on another run in the third to take a 4-1 lead as with two outs Brouse was hit by a pitch and then immediately stole second, setting up another RBI chance for Shribman, who singled him home. Overall, Shribman was 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the game. All three of his hits were singles.
The 4-1 Bucknell (20-28) lead did not last long as Keystone scored four runs in the top of the fourth. Starter Marcus Garone departed the game after three solid innings of one-run pitching. He allowed just three hits and did not walk a hitter. Matt Foley replaced him in the fourth, and five of the six hitters he faced reached base on singles. Alex Cillo then came in and worked out of the jam, coaxing a double-play grounder to the only batter he faced, ending the inning, but not before the Giants took a 5-4 advantage.
A total of seven double plays were turned in the game, including four by the Bucknell infield.
The Bison used a total of seven pitchers in the contest with five of them yielding one run or fewer.
Keystone starter Sean Brewer was solid during his 7.0 innings of work. He scattered 10 hits and struck out four. He was in line for the win when he departed the game.
Bucknell finished the game with 13 hits. Allen and LaRosa both had two hits and scored two runs apiece from the top two spots in the batting order. In fact, nine of the 13 hits came from the top five hitters in the lineup. Additionally, all eight RBIs came from those slots in the order. Donato, who hit eighth after entering the game in the sixth inning, was 2-for-2, including his team-high 17th double of the season.
Keystone recorded 14 hits with leadoff hitter Esteban Meletiche leading the way with a 3-for-4 day with two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored.
The Bison wrapped up their regular-season home schedule with a 7-9 record thanks to Tuesday's victory. Two of those wins came in the last at bat as Bucknell also defeated Navy with a walk-off hit less than two weeks ago.
The Bison will return to Patriot League play this coming weekend when they travel to West Point, N.Y., for a four-game series with league-leading Army. Bucknell needs at least one win to still have a chance at the Patriot League Tournament and can finish as high as third in the standings. First pitch Saturday is at noon, while Sunday's doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. at Doubleday Field.
