Bucknell University
Air Force
Bucknell Baseball Opens Florida Trip with 5-1 Win Over Air Force
3/13/2011 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 13, 2011
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Trey Frahler (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) pitched seven shutout innings and Doug Shribman (Marblehead, Mass./Belmont Hill School) hit his team-leading seventh home run of the season, leading the Bucknell baseball team to a 5-1 win over Air Force Sunday morning at Chain of Lakes Stadium. It was the fifth win in the last seven games for the Bison, who started their seven-game trip to Florida with a victory.
Frahler (1-3) allowed just five hits and struck out a season-high seven during his seven shutout innings to earn his first win of the season. He allowed just one Falcon to reach scoring position and left with the Bucknell ahead by a comfortable 5-0 margin.
The Bison plated the first three runs of the game in the top of the third inning when eight hitters stepped to the plate. The first six hitters reached base via four hits, one error and one walk. Travis Clark (Foster City, Calif./St. Ignatius) led off the frame with a single and then Robb Scott (Clemmons, N.C./Deerfield Academy) bunted for a base hit, setting up a two-run triple down the right-field line by Bob Donato (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area). A sacrifice fly by Gerry Runyan (Milton, Pa./Milton Area) rounded out the scoring in the inning.
Back-to-back two-out singles separated by a wild pitch by Scott Reed (Reston, Va./South Lakes) and Runyan in fifth made it 4-0, while Shribman connected on a home run to left leading off the seventh. It was his 34th career home run.
Bucknell registered 10 hits in the contest and had at least one baserunner in eight of the nine innings as the Air Force pitching staff issued four walks and two hit by pitches.
Shribman, Reed and Scott each posted two hits, while Donato and Runyan combined to drive in four of the five Bison runs.
Air Force (6-9) capitalized on back-to-back walks to lead off the ninth inning and pushed across its only run of the game on a two-out single by Nathan Carter, who was one of three Falcons with two hits in the contest. The run was the first earned run the Bucknell bullpen had yielded in its last 21.2 innings of work.
The Bison pitching staff has been very strong of late. Only one opponent has scored more than five runs in the last eight games and the team ERA is a miniscule 2.28 since the end of the season-opening series at James Madison.
Bucknell will be back in action Monday when it takes on Bradley at 11 a.m. The contest will take place at Henley Field in Lakeland, Fla.
