Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Bucknell Baseball Splits Another Doubleheader at Lehigh
4/23/2011 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 23, 2011
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Bob Donato was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and hit his third home run this week and Doug Shribman posted three hits, helping the Bucknell baseball team to a 10-3 victory over Lehigh in game one of the team's Patriot League doubleheader Saturday afternoon at a damp Goodman Campus field. The Mountain Hawks claimed game two, 8-4, scoring four runs in the bottom of the eighth to break a 4-4 tie, giving Bucknell its fourth doubleheader split in the last seven days.
Bucknell (18-24, 5-9 Patriot League) posted 26 hits in the doubleheader, including 15 in the seven-inning game one. Five Bison (Gerry Runyan, Drew Constable, David Duffett, Travis Clark, Matt Lamore) are now hitting at least .300 on the season. That group was 14-for-42 (.333) with six multi-hit games in the doubleheader.
Lehigh (23-16, 7-7 PL) committed five errors in the two games, leading to four unearned runs for the Bison, three of which came in game one.
Bucknell received solid relief pitching from Alex Cillo (2-1) to earn the game-one victory. The junior pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four after entering the game with two runners on in the bottom of the fourth and the Bison holding a 5-3 lead. Cillo has yielded just one earned run in his last 27.2 innings pitched and now has a team-best 2.67 ERA.
Ryan Ebner got the start for Bucknell and allowed just three hits in 3.2 innings, but walked an uncharacteristic six Lehigh hitters. The tall lefty was averaging just three walks per start entering the game.
Eight of the Bison's 10 runs came in two innings as they plated four in the second and again in the seventh to break the game open. A two-run single by Robb Scott and an RBI double by Donato produced three of the runs in the second, while two-run singles by Constable and Duffett in the seventh rounded out the scoring.
Donato's home run, his ninth of the season and third in his last two games, was a one-out solo shot in the sixth, while Shribman drove in a run with a double down the left field line in the fourth.
Constable, Duffett and Clark each had two hits in game one, joining with Donato and Shribman to give Bucknell five players with multi-hit showings.
The Bison tagged Lehigh starter Mike Lebo (3-3) with 10 hits and six runs in his 5.1 innings, while reliever Dan Ciccone yielded five hits and four runs in 1.1 innings. He owned a 2.73 ERA in 12 appearances (26.1 IP) entering the day.
Bucknell left 11 runners on base in game one as it had at least two baserunners in five of the seven innings and went down in order just once.
In game two, the Mountain Hawks scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth, all with two outs. Bison reliever Dan Weigel (0-1) had retired the first five hitters he had faced and it looked like the game would head to the ninth inning tied at 4-4. However, Weigel walked Austin Borden and Chad Warga followed with a single, knocking Weigel from the game. Brendan Pifer then knocked in the go-ahead run with a single and Brendan McGaheran drove in two more runs with a double and then scored on an error, making it 8-4.
Bucknell went down in order in the ninth as Cory Kent (5-0) earned the win in relief, getting five outs from the four hitters he faced thanks to an eighth-inning double play.
Lehigh scored three runs in the first inning and never trailed in the game.
The Bison scored two runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth. Three of the runs scored with two outs on the scoreboard.
Scott Reed drove home Shribman with a single in the fourth and then scored on a Lamore double, while Duffett and Lamore posted RBI singles in the sixth. Lamore was one of four Bucknell players with two hits in the game.
Dylan Seeley started for the Bison and lasted one hitter into the seventh inning. He yielded 10 hits, five of which came in the first inning, and permitted four runs, all earned. Weigel and Marcus Garone pitched in relief and were each charged with two runs in the eighth inning.
The four through seven hitters in the Bucknell lineup (Runyan, Duffett, Reed, Lamore) each had two hits and collected eight of the team's 11 hits. Donato was 2-for-4 in the No. 2 hole, his third consecutive multi-hit outing.
The Bison and Mountain Hawks were the only Patriot League teams to play on Saturday as the Army-Lafayette and Navy-Holy Cross series were pushed back to Sunday-Monday. Bucknell remains two games behind Lehigh for fourth place in the league standings, while Army, Navy and Lafayette are in a three-way tie for first at 7-5.
The Bison will take on the Mountain Hawks in another doubleheader Sunday afternoon beginning at noon.
