Bucknell University
Maine
Early Offense, Strong Relief Pitching Propel Baseball to 8-5 Win Over Maine
3/11/2015 7:51:00 PM | Baseball
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Bucknell baseball team scored all eight of its runs in the first three innings, Joe Ogren was 3-for-4 to push his season average to .524 and Mike Castellani pitched 4.1 innings of one-run relief to lead the Bison to an 8-5 win over Maine Wednesday in Florida. Bucknell improved to 2-2 on its spring break trip and 7-4 overall, while the Black Bears fell to 5-13.
The Bison bounced back from Tuesday's loss to Bowling Green in strong fashion. They scored an unearned run in the first inning and then plated four runs in the second inning and three more in the third. Brett Smith and Sam Clark each had two-run doubles in the second inning, while Anthony Gingerelli and Ogren had RBIs in the third inning.
Smith was 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot, while the bottom three hitters in the Bucknell lineup – Mark Powell, Jake Archey and Greg Wasikowski – combined for four hits and four runs scored. Archey's second-inning double was the first hit of his career. He added a single in the third inning.
The Bison did all of their damage against Maine's first two pitchers. Starter Luke Morrill (0-1) yielded five runs and five hits in 1.2 innings, while reliever Connor Johnson was tagged with three runs on two hits in 0.2 innings. Morrill and Johnson walked a combined four hitters.
Logan Fullmer came into the game for the Black Bears with one out in the third inning. He got two fielder's choices sandwiched around an Ogren RBI single to get out of the frame. He then allowed just two baserunners over the next five innings.
Freshman Mike Korchak made his first start on the mound for Bucknell and allowed just two runs on six hits over his first four innings of work. He was the beneficiary of three double plays over that span. Maine tacked on two unearned runs in the fifth and a two-out RBI single by Morrill knocked Korchak from the game in favor of reliever Mike Castellani.
Castellani (1-0) retired three of the first four hitters he faced and the only hits he allowed were back-to-back singles in the seventh inning to the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters in the Maine lineup. He finished the game by retiring nine in a row.
Bucknell will continue its Florida trip Thursday at 4:30 p.m. vs. Long Island.
