Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Towson
Bucknell Baseball Splits Non-League Doubleheader with Towson
4/20/2011 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 20, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bob Donato posted the first multi-home run game of his career and five Bucknell pitchers combined to carry a shutout into the ninth inning as the Bison baseball team earned a split of a doubleheader with Towson Wednesday afternoon at Depew Field with a 7-1 victory in the nightcap. The Tigers won game one by an 8-1 margin, posting a five-run second inning.
Donato, who is second on Bucknell with a career-high eight home runs this year, hit a two-out, three-run home run to cap a four-run second inning, and later hit a one-out solo home run to right in the seventh inning. He now has 15 home runs in his career, putting him in a tie for 14th in program history. Donato's 28 RBIs rank second on the team this year.
Bucknell (17-23) totaled 12 hits in game two, but left just two runners on base as Towson (16-20-1) turned double plays in five successive innings to thwart a number of Bison rallies.
Luke Lombardi had an RBI single immediately preceding Donato's first home run, and Scott Reed had a two-run double that landed just inside the right-field line in the sixth. Reed's double followed a David Duffett sacrifice bunt in which the Tigers tried to gun down the lead runner, but failed.
Bucknell used six pitchers in game two. The first five pitchers yielded just three hits and no runs with starter Dan Goldstein (1-0) earning the win after pitching a planned scoreless three innings.
Relievers Gabe Noyalis, Russell Seidell and Daniel Hart pitched to the minimum number of hitters in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, with the only baserunner that reached (on an error) being erased on a double play.
The Tigers scored their only run of the game in the ninth inning when leadoff hitter Cody Reeves hit a solo home run to right field off Steve Carlin. Carlin then retired the next three hitters in order to finish the game.
Tyler Bugna (3-2) suffered the loss for Towson as he was tagged for the four runs in the second inning. He pitched the first three innings.
Donato, Reed, Doug Shribman and Gerry Runyan each had two hits for the Bison in the nightcap after not appearing in the game-one lineup. Runyan's two-hit outing extended his hitting streak to a team-best six games.
Bucknell's game-one starting lineup featured five freshmen, three sophomores and a junior as well as a freshman starting pitcher. The Tigers capitalized on five Bison errors and scored three unearned runs in the contest.
After easily retiring four of the first five hitters he faced, Bucknell starter Jack McLinden (0-1) was touched for five straight hits and walked another before departing. The five consecutive hits led to five runs for the Tigers, who added an unearned run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to win game one.
Nick Natoli led the Towson offense with two runs scored and a pair of hits.
Chris Acker (1-0) was strong on the mound for the Tigers, pitching to the minimum through three innings and allowing just two hits in his five innings of work. He struck out five and walked just one.
Bucknell's lone run in game one came on a solo home run off the bat of Scott Glass in the bottom of the sixth. It was his first career home run.
The Bison managed just five hits total in game one.
Bucknell will return to Patriot League play this weekend with a four-game series at Lehigh. Doubleheaders both Saturday and Sunday will begin at noon.
