Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Baseball faces Saint Joseph's in Home Opener Tuesday
3/18/2013 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 18, 2013
Note: Tuesday's Bucknell-Saint Joseph's game has been postponed. The teams are trying to reschedule on a later date.
LEWISBURG, Pa. -The Bison baseball team will open its home schedule Tuesday as it plays host to Saint Joseph's in a single game with the first pitch scheduled for 2:30 p.m. It will be the first of 13 games at Depew Field in 2013 and the start of four out of six games to be played at home for Bucknell. The Bison will look to win their home opener for a third consecutive year.
The Bison return from a week in Central Florida that saw them play seven games in as many days. The team won its first three games before dropping its last four, resulting in a 4-13 overall record this season
The combination of strong starting pitching as well some of the best hitting the Bison have produced all season resulted in a great opening three games during the Florida trip. Sophomore Bryson Hough had his first career shutout as Travis Clarkwent 4-for-5 including two runs scored to lead the Bison to a win over North Dakota State to open the week.
Dan Goldstein almost pitched the Bison's second consecutive shutout (8.1 IP, 1R) as freshman Jon Mayer, sophomore Anthony Gingerelli and juniors Brett Ashley and Corey Furman drove in runs to edge Fairfield 5-1. The Bison followed up that win with a 15-hit performance against LIU Brooklyn. Scott Glasshad four hits and Gingerelli added three more as Bucknell posted a 13-4 victory over the Blackbirds
Robb Scottwill look to extend his five-game hitting streak this week, while Furman will try and continue his hot hitting as well. Furman leads the Bison with 17 hits and hit a strong .407 on the Florida trip, including going 8-for-10 over the last three games.
Gingerelli (.389) and Furman (.283) are Bucknell's top two hitters in 2013, while freshman Austin Zimmermanpaces the Bison with 1.59 ERA over 5.2 innings pitched. Hough's ERA is at 2.76 and he has allowed just 28 hits in 32.2 innings.
Saint Joseph's will bring an 8-11 record into Tuesday's game. The Hawks are coming off a two-game sweep of Wagner and have won six of their last seven games, all at home. Saint Joseph's is just 2-10 away from Smithson Field this season.
The Hawks are hitting .257 as a team and have a 3.35 team ERA. They have outscored opponents by an 89-85 margin.
Bucknell and Saint Joseph's split a four-game series last March. It marked the first time the teams had played in nearly 50 years. The teams played once in 1963, 1964 and 1965 before the series was discontinued. The Bison have a 4-3 edge in the all-time series.
After Tuesday's home opener the Bison will travel down to Newark, Del., to face the Blue Hens of Delaware for the first two of a three-game series before returning to Depew Field for the final contest of the series Sunday afternoon.
Bucknell Notes:
• Bucknell starters had a 2.76 ERA during the trip to Florida.
• Bucknell is 4-1 in its last five games at Depew Field.
• Corey Furman, Scott Glass and Travis Clark each have a four-hit game this year. The Bison had just three four-hit games all of last year (49 games).
• Bucknell hit .266 as a team and posted a 3.30 ERA during its Spring Break trip.
• Travis Clark is the only Bison player to have started all 17 games this season.
