Bucknell University
Holy Cross
Wild Ninth Inning Lifts Holy Cross to 8-7 Victory Over Bucknell in First Game of PL Championship Series
5/21/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 21, 2010
WORCESTER, Mass. - Bob Donato and Scott Reed hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning to help Bucknell overcome a three-run deficit, and a Ben Yoder RBI single gave the Bison the lead, but a double by Holy Cross' Steve Tkowski that right fielder Andrew Brouse lost in the lights as twilight settled in over Fitton Field helped the Crusaders battle back and take a swiftly played game one of the best-of-three Patriot League Championship Series by an 8-7 score on a mid-summer-like Friday night.
Nate Koneski pitched well throughout for Holy Cross, which took a 6-3 advantage into the ninth inning. A leadoff walk by Drew Constable against Koneski got the comeback started, though. Bob Donato followed with his sixth home run of the season over the left-center field wall, making it 6-5. Scott Reed made it back-to-back home runs and tied the game at 6-6. Holy Cross (26-24) coach Greg DiCenzo removed Koneski from the game in favor of Bobby Holmes (1-4).
The Bucknell (23-33) rally continued against Holmes as David Duffett reached on an infield single to third and moved to second on a bunt single by Ben Allen, who posted an eighth-inning double to extend his hitting streak to a team-best nine games. Two batters later a Yoder roller through the right side that came to rest in the outfield's thick grass plated Duffett with the go-ahead run.
Steve Carlin (3-5), who entered the game with a 2.45 ERA in nine relief appearances, came on in the ninth and struck out the first hitter he faced. A walk to Matt Perry followed, and he moved to second on a wild pitch. After a fly out to right by Stephen Wadsworth made it two outs, Eric Oxford singled home Perry with a single to center that came to a stop in the outfield grass as well. It then appeared as though Carlin got out of the inning and the game was going to extra innings, but Tkowski's fly ball to fairly deep right got lost in the lights and the backdrop of the darkening sky, allowing pinch runner Chris Blanchard to race around from first base with the winning run.
Bucknell starter Dylan Seeley was effective through seven innings of work as he scattered nine hits and left with the Bison trailing 6-2. He did not allow more than five Crusaders to step to the plate in any inning, and Holy Cross did not plate more than two runs in any frame.
While Seeley was strong, Koneski was stronger. He retired the first 10 Bucknell hitters and got the Bison to go down 1-2-3 in four of the first six innings. However, he tired late as seven of the 10 hits he yielded came in the seventh inning or later.
Bucknell's first runs came in the fourth inning when Brouse hit a two-out, two-run home run over the center field wall. It was his 16th home run of the season and 29th of his career, breaking the Patriot League standard he had shared with Army's Cole White and Lehigh's Jesse Novalis.
The Bison threatened in the eighth as Allen's one-out double put him in scoring position for Yoder, who knocked him in with a single. Two batters later Doug Shribman, who hit four home runs last weekend in a three-game semifinal series at Army, came to the plate representing the tying run in the 6-3 ballgame. He proceeded to line out to short to end the threat.
Holy Cross led by a slim 4-2 margin entering the latter innings, but a Wadsworth home run added a pair of much-needed insurance runs in the seventh.
Bucknell's three home runs (Brouse, Donato, Reed) gave it 11 in its four postseason games, and extended its own Patriot League single-season record to 66. Donato's home run was his first since April 6, while Reed's was his first since March 14.
The Bison did pound out a total of 12 hits in the contest as eight of the nine starters posted at least one. Yoder and Brouse were both 2-for-5, while Donato and Duffett were both 2-for-4. Yoder, Brouse and Donato each knocked in two runs. Brouse's two RBIs moved him into third place on the Bucknell career list with 129.
Perry led the third-seeded Crusaders with a 3-for-4 performance with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs.
Bucknell and Holy Cross will meet again on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. The fourth-seeded Bison will need to sweep the doubleheader to claim their second Patriot League title in three years. The Crusaders will be aiming for their first-ever PL crown.
