Bucknell University
North Carolina State
Baseball Drops 5-2 Decision at No. 8 North Carolina State
3/6/2016 5:02:00 PM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. – Preston Palmeiro was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and four other North Carolina State players had two hits apiece as the No. 8 Wolfpack defeated Bucknell by a 5-2 score Sunday afternoon at Doak Field. It marked the first game for the Bison against a nationally ranked opponent since facing No. 3 Virginia in the 2014 NCAA Regional.
Bucknell (5-5) finished the weekend-long USA Baseball-Irish Classic with a 1-2 record, but its three games were decided by a total of six runs.
N.C. State (10-2) won its seventh straight game. Chance Shepard homered for the seventh time in the last eight games and he put the Wolfpack up early with a two-run homer in the first inning.
N.C. State added single runs in the third, fifth and eighth innings. Bucknell narrowed its deficit to 3-2 with runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Bison scored their first run in the fourth when Joe Ogren reached on a one-out double and later scored on a two-out single by Sam Clark. Bucknell added another run in the fifth when Mike Korchak led off with a single and later scored on a two-out single by Danny Rafferty, who is second on the team with 12 hits this season.
Five N.C. State pitchers held Bucknell without a hit over the final four innings and yielded just one baserunner – a hit by pitch in the ninth – over that span. Starter Joe O'Donnell (2-0) took a no-hitter in to the fourth inning and earned the win by pitching one out into the sixth and allowing all five Bison hits and both runs while striking out four.
Dan Keller (0-1) started on the mound for Bucknell and pitched into the fifth. He allowed 10 hits and four runs and did not walk or strike out a hitter. Andrew Andreychik entered in relief two hitters into the fifth inning and retired the first seven hitters he faced. He did not allow a hit until the eighth inning before departing in favor of Hunter Robichaux, who got the final out in the eighth.
Bucknell will make its annual trek to Florida for spring break next week. The Bison will play just five games in the Sunshine State this year, beginning with the first of three in a row against Bradley on Saturday (March 12). Bucknell will also face Dartmouth and Maine in Florida before returning home March 19 for its season opener against Cornell.
