Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Delaware
Bucknell Baseball Forces Extra Innings with Ninth-Inning Comeback, But Drops 5-4 Decision to Delaware
3/24/2013 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 24, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell third baseman Carter Bumgardner was 3-for-6 and his RBI single in the bottom of the ninth completed a two-run rally that tied the score at 4-4 and forced extra innings, but Delaware scored a run on a wild pitch in the top of the 11th to defeat the Bison in baseball action Sunday afternoon at Depew Field. The Blue Hens won all three contests in the home-and-home weekend series by one run.
Bucknell (4-16) scored 19 runs in the series and 11 of them came in the ninth inning, including two on Sunday. The Bison entered the ninth on Sunday trailing 4-2. They managed just four hits against Delaware (14-8) starter Matt Soren, but he was lifted in favor of Stephen Richter to begin the final frame of regulation and that began the Bison comeback.
Scott Glass led off the ninth with a walk against Richter. Corey Furman, who was 0-for-4 at that point, extended his hitting streak to a team-best six games with a hard-hit RBI triple down the right field line. Two batters later Bumgardner singled to right to tie the score and knock Richter from the game.
Eric Buckland (3-1) entered the contest and induced a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Robb Scott to send the game to extra innings.
Bucknell had a chance in the 10th as Ogren led off with a hit by pitch. He moved to second on a sac bunt. Justin Meier was then intentionally walked to set up a double play, but Buckland struck out Rob Krentzman and got Matt Busch to fly out to left to end the rally. He then retired the Bison in order in the 11th to earn his third win of the year.
The Bison received solid pitching all day from Dan Goldstein, Xavier Hammond and Max Kra. Making his sixth start of the year, Goldstein pitched six innings and was touched for six hits and four runs, three of which were earned. He struck out five and retired 11 of the last 12 hitters he faced. Xavier Hammond replaced him in the seventh and allowed just one hit in four innings of work. He retired six of the first seven hitters he faced and kept the Blue Hens at four runs, giving the Bucknell offense a chance to make a comeback.
Kra relieved Hammond in the 11th after a few innings of throwing in the bullpen and promptly got cleanup hitter Nick Ferdinand to ground out to second. However, Zach Lopes followed with a double to left. He moved to third on a grounder to third when Bumgardner threw across the diamond. Then, with Tyler Powell at the plate, a pitch by Kra sailed wide of catcher Meier. Lopes scampered home from third to score the go-ahead run and what proved to be the winning run.
Soren was the story of the game from the Delaware perspective. Making just his second start of the year, the senior recorded nine strikeouts and allowed just a pair of unearned runs in the second inning.
Delaware pitchers walked the leadoff hitter two times on Sunday and both times the Bison scored a pair of runs in the inning. The first time this occurred was in the second inning when Robb Scott drew a leadoff base on balls. A wild throw by third baseman EJ Stoltzfus trying to get the lead runner on a ball off the bat of Joe Ogren allowed both baserunners to be safe. A sac bunt by Anthony Gingerelli moved Scott and Ogren into scoring position. Scott then scored on a wild pitch. The other run came when Krentzman's perfectly placed one-out sac bunt down the first base line allowed Ogren to run home from third and Meier to advance to second.
Delaware's early offense was keyed by Jimmy Yezzo, who was 3-for-5 with three RBIs in the game. He had doubles in each of his first three at bats. He had an RBI double in the first inning then drove in two runs with a double in the third. Ferdinand followed with his only hit of the day, a double to right center, to round out the Blue Hens' scoring until the 11th.
Sunday's contest marked the home opener for Bucknell. The Bison had won two consecutive home openers. It was also the second extra-inning contest this year for Bucknell, which lost a 10-inning 2-1 decision to Harvard earlier this month.
Bumgardner's team-best three hits (all singles) upped his season average to .347. He has hit in three consecutive games and has at least one hit in 11 of his 13 starts. He was 7-for-13 in the three-game weekend series against the Blue Hens.
The Bison will continue their mini three-game homestand Tuesday when they host Binghamton in a doubleheader. The teams will play two seven-inning contests beginning at 2 p.m. at Depew Field.
