Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Baseball Begins Patriot League Play as Holy Cross Visits for Weekend Series
3/29/2012 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 29, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell baseball team will host Holy Cross in a four-game series at Depew Field this weekend. The series will mark the first Patriot League games of the season for the Bison. The series gets underway with a Saturday doubleheader, followed by another doubleheader on Sunday. First pitch is slated for noon on both Saturday and Sunday, with the second games following after brief intermissions. All four of this weekend's games will be broadcast on 90.5 WVBU and SportsJuice.com.
The Bison stand at 12-11 after splitting a doubleheader against Binghamton on Tuesday. Bucknell won the first game 2-1 behind senior lefty Russell Seidell, who pitched a complete game, scattering seven hits and one walk in seven strong innings. He struck out six in the contest and is now 2-0. Over his last two appearances - his only two starts on the season - Seidell has pitched 15.1 innings and allowed only three earned runs (1.76 ERA) and now leads the Bison pitching staff with a 2.57 ERA. Bucknell dropped the second game to the Bearcats,10-4.
Bucknell has received quality pitching from several members of the staff this season. Senior reliever Alex Cillo continues to dominate out of the bullpen and has collected five saves on the year, now ranking tied for fifth all-time in single-season saves and fifth in career saves (8) in Bison history. Sophomore Dan Weigel carries a 5-1 record and a 3.02 ERA. He has pitched the most innings on the team (41.2), and leads the squad in wins and is second in strikeouts (19).
The Bison offense is off to a hot start this season, hitting .314 as a team to lead the Patriot League by a wide margin. Seniors Bob Donato and David Duffett have set the tone and both have 11 multi-hit games this year. Donato continues to climb up the all-time Bison record lists and now stands first in career doubles (49), fourth in home runs (23), fifth in total bases (312), seventh in games started (153), and is tied for sixth in games played (160). He has also hit in 19 straight games, just eight games shy of the Bison record for longest hitting streak of 27.
Meanwhile, Duffett has continued his improvement every season with a strong 2012 campaign. The third baseman has improved his batting average by over 60 points each season and currently is hitting .371, second on the team to only Donato. He has played and started in all but one game this year and currently leads the squad in at bats, is tied for the team lead in hits (36) and triples (2), and is second in RBIs (20).
Another Bison player on a hot streak is shortstop Robb Scott, who has an eight-game hitting streak and drove in the winning run with an eighth inning RBI single in a game against Saint Joseph's last week. He is currently batting .338, an improvement of more than 200 points from his 2011 average. He has already collected more hits, doubles, and RBIs than last season despite having played in 21 games this year, compared to 45 last season.
The Bison will face a Holy Cross team that is 11-10 on the year and is coming off a 7-6 loss to Harvard on Wednesday. The Crusaders have won three of their last four contests and are 7-7 on the road this year. Holy Cross' strength is its pitching as the Crusaders own a 4.37 ERA and are hitting .241. Chris Sintetos (.333) is the lone player hitting above .300 on the year. John Colella leads the pitching staff with a 3-1 record and a 1.85 ERA in 11 appearances. He also has four saves and has struck out 27 in 24.1 innings. Opponents are hitting just .143 against him.
Bucknell owns a 47-35 record over Holy Cross in a series that began in 1991. Though the Bison have gone 2-6 against Holy Cross in the last two regular seasons, Bucknell defeated Holy Cross to win the Patriot League Tournament in 2010, an honor that sent the Bison to the NCAA Regionals.
The Bison are in the midst of a stretch that will see them at home for 15 of 17 games. Bucknell will host Lock Haven next Tuesday for a single game at 3:30 p.m. at Depew Field.
Select Bucknell Player Career Statistics vs. Holy Cross
Ryan Ebner (2-0, 2.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 15 K, 13 H, 5 ER)
Alex Cillo (3 G, 5.0 IP, 8 K, 1-0, 1 save)
David Duffett (.303, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 8 R, 6 BB)
Bob Donato (12 G, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 7 R)
Matt Lamore (.291, 1 HR, 5 RBI)
Scott Reed (1 HR, 4 RBI)
Travis Clark (.333, 3 HR, 4 RBI)
In the Herd: Bucknell-Holy Cross Preview
