Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lafayette
Late-Inning Comeback Propels Baseball to Another Doubleheader Split at Lafayette
4/17/2016 7:38:00 PM | Baseball
EASTON, Pa. – Joe Ogren and Spencer Stokes had RBI singles and Sam Clark had a bases-clearing three-run double in the final inning to bring the Bucknell baseball team back from a 3-0 deficit and defeat Lafayette 5-3 in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday at Kamine Stadium. The Leopards earned a split of the twinbill with a 6-4 victory in the nightcap after scoring three runs in both the first and fourth innings.
The Bison (16-23, 7-5 PL) come out of the weekend tied for second place in the Patriot League with Holy Cross, one game behind Navy. Lafayette (12-22, 6-6 PL) is alone in fourth place. The top four teams in the six-team league make the postseason.
Bucknell's Brett Smith was 3-for-6 on the day and had hits in both games, extending his hitting streak to 16 games, the longest by a Bison player since Bob Donato had a 21-game streak in 2012. One of Smith's hits in game two was an inside-the-park home run.
In game one, Lafayette starter John Cain was strong, allowing just four hits and no runs in 5.1 innings. Reliever David Giusti stranded two Bison in scoring position in the sixth with the Leopards clinging to a 1-0 lead.
Lafayette then scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out, two-run home run by Luke Robinson.
Trailing 3-0 entering the final inning, Bucknell had its first three batters in the seventh reach base against Giusti. Ogren and Stokes, who was a team-best 3-for-3 at the plate, followed with one-out RBI singles to bring the Bison to within 3-2. Clark followed with his three-run double to left-center, knocking reliever Ari Kaufman (1-5) from the game. With another RBI double in game two, Clark is now third on the team with 22 RBIs this season.
Thanks to a double play, Bucknell reliever Connor Van Hoose faced just three batters in the bottom of the seventh to close out the win with his first career save. The win helped the Bison improve to 6-0 in game ones of doubleheaders during Patriot League play.
Bucknell starter Dan Keller (3-3) improved to 3-0 in Patriot League play, allowing just four hits and three runs (two earned) in six innings of work. He struck out four and walked four
In game two, Lafayette's Campbell Lipe and John Selsor hit back-to-back homers in the first inning and Michael Coniglio had a three-run double in the fourth to give the Leopards all the runs they would need.
The Bison bullpen was strong as Hunter Robichaux, Tommy Gambon, Austin Zimmerman and Danny Rafferty pitched the final 4.2 scoreless innings in relief of starter Jack Grabek (1-2). The four relievers combined to allow just three hits and one walk while striking out five. Robichaux had four strikeouts in his 3.1 innings of work.
Bucknell initially got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth on Clark's two-out RBI double followed by an RBI single from Jon Mayer. Smith followed with his inside-the-park homer with two outs in the fifth.
The Bison added one more run in the eighth on a two-out single by Stokes, plating Chuckie Scales who had drawn a leadoff walk.
Trevor Houck (1-2) earned his first win for Lafayette, allowing five hits and three runs in seven innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. Connor McMahon registered his second save by pitching the final two innings.
All four games in this weekend's Bucknell-Lafayette series were close. The four games were decided by a total of eight runs with the Bison outscoring the Leopards 18-16.
Thanks to this weekend's series split, Bucknell has not lost a Patriot League series all season. The Bison will return home for their final two league series against Holy Cross (April 23-24) and Navy (April 30-May 1).
Bucknell will wrap up its current 11-game road stretch Tuesday at Penn State (6:30 p.m.). The Bison lost to the Nittany Lions last Wednesday in their first matchup of the year.
