Baseball Will Square Off with Niagara in Virginia this Weekend

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Opening day at Depew Field for the Bucknell baseball team has been moved to Virginia due to the forecasted cold weather in the Susquehanna Valley. The Bison will now clash with Niagara at the Petersburg Sports Complex in Petersburg, Va., this weekend.

After facing the current No. 3 team in the country, South Carolina, in a season-opening three-game series, the Bison split games against Delaware State and Iona last weekend. Bucknell (1-4) dropped the first game against Delaware State in extra innings 1-0. But, the Bison were able to secure the first win of the 2014 season the following day as they defeated Iona 9-5.

Coming off their highest run total of the season, the Bison will look to keep the bats hot this weekend. Senior co-captain and 2013 All-Patriot League selection Corey Furman has been an offensive force early in the season, reaching base in all four games, registering three multi-hit games and leading the team with five RBIs. He also has a team-best four extra-base hits. Also swinging the bat well for the Bison is sophomore Joe Ogren. Ogren is tied for the team lead with a .400 batting average and has eight hits — the most of any Bucknell player.

The Purple Eagles are 3-4 on the season. Three out of those four losses came to nationally ranked Florida State on Niagara's opening weekend of the season. The Purple Eagles bounced back well in their second series of the year, outscoring North Carolina Central 40-15 and winning three out of four games. Freshman Taylor Hackett leads the team with a .286 batting average and eight RBIs.

The projected starters on the mound for Bucknell are Bryson Hough, Dan Weigel, Andrew Andreychik and Xavier Hammond. Andreychik picked up the first win of the season for the Bison on Sunday. He tied his career high with eight strikeouts while allowing four runs over five innings.

Bucknell is 6-2 all-time against Niagara. The last time the two teams played was 2012 at Depew Field and the Bison won three out of the four games in the early March weekend series. The first contest between the two squads came way back in 1906.

Doubleheaders are scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday. Each day the first game will be seven innings followed by a nine-inning game. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m. followed by a noon start on Sunday.

Projected Pitching Matchups
Saturday Game 1: RHP Bryson Hough (0-1, 7.71 ERA, 4 K) vs. RHP Jordan Schwartz (1-1, 4.38 ERA, 15 K)
Saturday Game 2: LHP Dan Weigel (0-2, 6.75 ERA, 4 K) vs. RHP Liam Stroud (0-2, 11.42 ERA, 6 K)
Sunday Game 1: RHP Andrew Andreychik (1-1, 8.00 ERA, 9 K) vs. LHP Cody Eckerson (0-0, 34.71 ERA, 4 K)
Sunday Game 2: LHP Xavier Hammond (0-0, 6.75 ERA, 5 K) vs. RHP Drew Fittry (1-1, 2.92 ERA, 7 K)