Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Baseball Travels to Penn State Wednesday
4/9/2013 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 9, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell baseball team will make its yearly trip to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to take on Penn State on Wednesday, April 10. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. The Bison will bring a three-game winning streak into the matchup for a third consecutive year.
Bucknell is coming off a victorious weekend as it won three of four games at Navy. After dropping the series opener, the Bison won the next three to reach a .500 record in conference play. Bucknell (9-22) is 4-4 in the Patriot League and is part of a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings.
Penn State (6-21, 0-6 Big Ten), which is hosting Kent State Tuesday evening, snapped a 13-game losing streak with an 11-3 win over Wright State on Sunday. The Nittany Lions are hitting .250 as a team and have a 4.96 ERA.
The Bucknell-Penn State series dates back to 1886. The Nittany Lions hold a 111-33 all-time advantage over the Bison. Bucknell last won in 1998 and has lost 18 straight in the series. However, five of the last seven games have been decided by two runs or fewer. Penn State won last year's game 2-0 thanks to single runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
Bucknell brings a season best-tying three-game winning streak into Wednesday's game. The Bison pitching has been strong all season (4.74 ERA), but the hitting has really picked up during the winning streak. Bucknell is hitting .330 over its last three games, led by Corey Furman (7-for-13, .538), Travis Clark (6-for-13, .462), Joe Ogren (4-for-9, .444) and Carter Bumgardner (5-for-14, .357). That quartet has driven in 16 runs and scored 17 during the winning streak.
Clark enters Wednesday's contest on a team-best four-game hitting streak, while Furman has posted a team-high 11 multi-hit games this season. Furman, who is hitting .325 on the season, has reached base in 17 straight games.
Bison weekend starters Bryson Hough (53.1), Dan Goldstein (48.2), Dan Weigel (48.2) and Andrew Andreychik (26.2) have combined to pitch 177.1 of Bucknell's 258.0 innings this season. They are a combined 9-14 with a 4.21 ERA and 110 strikeouts. Only two other Bison have started games as Xavier Hammond and Jack McLinden have two starts apiece.
Rookie Jonathan Lucas leads the Bison with a 2.25 ERA in 4.0 innings this season. His last appearance came March 26 vs. Binghamton.
Bucknell will return to Patriot League play this coming weekend, April 13-14, when it plays a four-game set at Lehigh. It will be the final road Patriot League series for the Bison, who will host Army (April 20-21) and Lafayette (April 27-28) to close out the regular season.
