Baseball Continues Patriot League Slate with Home Series vs. Lafayette

4/17/2015 4:38:00 PM | Baseball

By: TBD

LEWISBURG, Pa. –The Bucknell baseball team will be starting a seven-game homestand starting with a four-game series against Lafayette (7-18-1, 5-7 Patriot League) at Depew Field on April 18-19. Doubleheaders will begin at 12 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and the Bison seniors will be recognized prior to Sunday's first pitch. All four games will air on WVBU 90.5 and BucknellBison.com.

The Bison (18-17, 4-8 Patriot League) were able to jump back into the Patriot League race after taking three of four games against Army West Point last weekend, outscoring the Black Knights 34-14 in the process.

Bucknell started the weekend off with an 11-inning 2-1 victory. Mike Stephens picked up the win in relief after Bryson Hough allowed only one run over 10 innings, and Jon Mayer hit a walk-off single in his fifth at-bat of the game. In the following contest, the Bison never looked back after scoring four runs in the first inning. First baseman Rob Krentzman went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, as Bucknell won 10-2.

The next day, the Bison were able to improve even more offensively, scoring 14 runs in the first game of the doubleheader. The squad tallied 16 hits in the contest, and the 13-run margin was the best for the Bison since a 17-4 victory over Buffalo back in February. Although Army prevented a series sweep with its 10-8 win in the final game of the series, Jon Mayer totaled an impressive 12 RBIs in the series, earning him the Patriot League Player of the Week Award.

Penn State also hosted Bucknell for a mid-week, non-conference game before the Lafayette series. The Nittany Lions won 11-2 in University Park, but Brett Smith was 1-for-4 to extend his reached-base streak to 13 games, just one shy of the longest such streak by a Bison this year.

Lafayette sits just one game ahead of the Bison in the Patriot League standings with two weekends remaining in the regular season. The Leopards hold a 109-65 all-time record against Bucknell, but the Bison won three of four last season after holding the Leopards to just 12 runs.

The 2015 pitching staff has been a vital piece as Bucknell continues to rise up the conference standings. It holds a 3.64 ERA to rank second in the Patriot League and has the most complete games in the conference with nine. Xavier Hammond's 56 strikeouts are more than any Bison pitcher recorded a season ago, and he is one strikeout away from breaking onto the program's single-season top-10 strikeout list. Additionally, Bryson Hough has allowed just nine walks over 59.1 innings of work.

Bucknell's pitching will go up against a Leopard team that struggles offensively, ranking last in batting average (.252) and runs scored per game (4.0) in the conference. The Bison offense is led by Joe Ogren and Anthony Gingerelli, who have combined for 89 hits and 53 runs. Also contributing in key areas, Mayer's last weekend has bumped his season RBI total to 26, tied for most on the squad with Ogren.

Following the Lafayette series, the Bison will stay at Depew Field for a pair of games against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday and a single contest against Towson on Wednesday. They will then wrap up the regular season with a four-game series at Holy Cross next weekend.

Weekend Pitching Matchups
Saturday Game 1: RHP Bryson Hough (4-3, 2.73 ERA, 35 K, 59.1 IP) vs. RHP David Bednar (1-5, 2.37 ERA, 38 K, 38 IP)
Saturday Game 2: LHP Xavier Hammond (4-2, 3.07 ERA, 56 K, 55.2 IP) vs. LHP John Cain (0-1, 4.81 ERA, 26 K, 24.1 IP)
Sunday Game 1: RHP Andrew Andreychik (3-4, 2.55 ERA, 36 K, 42.1 IP) vs. LHP Toby Schwartz (1-3, 4.93 ERA, 32 K, 34.1 IP)
Sunday Game 2: TBA vs. TBA

Bucknell Baseball Home Radio Broadcast Schedule
(Games air live on WVBU 90.5 and BucknellBison.com)
April 18: vs. Lafayette (DH), 12 p.m.
April 19: vs. Lafayette (DH), 12 p.m.