Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Baseball Welcomes Lafayette to Depew Field this Weekend
3/31/2011 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 31, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The last time the Bucknell baseball team faced a Patriot League opponent, it was last May and the Bison were winning the Patriot League Tournament crown at Fitton Field against Holy Cross. Bucknell opens this year's Patriot League schedule this weekend when it hosts Lafayette in a four-game set at Depew Field. Doubleheaders are scheduled to be played both Saturday and Sunday starting at noon. Game one of each twinbill will be seven innings, while game two will be nine.
The Patriot League schedule will consist of five consecutive weekends with two doubleheaders. The Bison will be on the road for three in a row after Lafayette before hosting Army in the regular-season finale April 30-May 1.
Live statistics from all four of this weekend's games will be available via GameTracker.
Bucknell Baseball Notebook (11-13, 0-0 PL)
• Bucknell is 11-8 in its last 19 games.
• The Bison are 3-1 at home this year and have won eight of their last 12 at Depew Field.
• Ryan Ebner has earned the win in six of Bucknell's last 14 victories, dating back to last year's Patriot League Tournament. Ebner is a team-best 3-1 this year with a 5.08 ERA. The Bison are 4-0 in his last four starts.
• Bob Donato and Scott Reed enter the weekend with team-best four-game hitting streaks. Reed is 6-for-14 during his streak and has lifted his average from .262 to .291, placing him third on the squad.
• Alex Cillo and Ebner both have long scoreless inning streaks intact. Ebner has not allowed a run over his last 21.1 innings, a span of three starts. Cillo has not allowed an earned run in his last 11.0 innings over seven appearances. Cillo has yielded eight hits and struck out 11 in those 11.0 innings.
• Taking away the season-opening four-game series at James Madison, Bucknell's four primary starting pitchers (Jack Boehm, Ryan Ebner, Trey Frahler, Dylan Seeley) have combined for 96.1 innings and a 2.43 ERA in 16 starts. Overall, the Bison pitching staff has a 2.82 ERA during that span (20 games).
• A Bucknell starting pitcher has been named the Patriot League Pitcher of the Week each of the last three weeks, and four times in the last five weeks.
• Doug Shribman has a team-high 22 RBIs this year, giving him 126 in his career. He is fifth in program history, just two behind fourth-place Roger Ahrens. Shribman needs to drive in 32 more runs to become the program's all-time leader in that category.
• Nine different Bison have hit home runs this year. Lafayette has just one player who has hit a home run (A.J. Miller - 5).
• Bucknell is in the midst of a stretch where it is playing 10 of 12 games at home.
• Dylan Seeley has walked just four hitters in 35.1 innings this year, an average of 1.02 per nine innings, placing him 42nd nationally. He is now averaging 2.72 walks per nine innings in his career, good for seventh-best in program history.
• Bucknell hitters have been issued four intentional walks this year and all four times it has been Shribman. He is hitting .299 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs. Sixteen of his 26 hits this year have gone for extra bases.
• Reliever Steve Carlin has made a team-high nine appearances in relief this year and is 3-0 with three saves.
• Shribman is hitting .458 (11-for-24) when leading off an inning.
• Bucknell pitchers have been remarkably consistent against right-handed and left-handed hitters. Righties are hitting .293 against the Bison staff, while lefties are hitting .292.
Bucknell 2011 Awards/Honors
• Patriot League Player of the Week
Bob Donato (2/28), Doug Shribman (March 7)
• Patriot League Pitcher of the Week
Jack Boehm (2/28), Trey Frahler (3/14), Ryan Ebner (3/21, 3/28)
• Patriot League Rookie of the Week
Colby Vanderbeck (2/28)
Bucknell vs. Lafayette
• Lafayette leads the all-time series 100-58.
• Bucknell and Lafayette split a four-game series last year in Easton. The Bison won games one (5-3) and four (18-8) of the series, while the Leopards claimed games two (14-13) and three (5-4).
• Lafayette has won 16 of 23 in the series since 2006.
About Lafayette
• Lafayette is 6-14 this year and is 2-7 in its last nine games.
• The Leopards are 6-10 on the road this year.
• Lafayette is coming off a 3-1 13-inning victory at NJIT on Wednesday.
• Lafayette, which was 15-30 overall and 7-13 in Patriot League play, was picked to finish sixth (last) in this year's Patriot League Preseason Poll.
• Lafayette is hitting .279 as a team and has a 5.82 ERA. Opponents are hitting .301 and have a 3.66 ERA as the Leopards are averaging 4.9 runs per game.
Up Next
• Bucknell will host a pair of mid-week games next Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bison will take on Marist Tuesday at Depew Field and then Coppin State the next day. First pitch for both games will be 3:30 p.m.
