Baseball Begins Nine-Game Homestand to Close Regular Season This Weekend vs. Holy Cross

4/21/2016 4:52:00 PM | Baseball

By: TBD

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell baseball team will be returning home this weekend to start its final homestand of the season. The Bison will be at home for their final nine games of the regular season. Bucknell has a pair of doubleheaders vs. Holy Cross on Saturday and Sunday, with the first game of each doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. Sunday's contests will have audio broadcasts on BucknellBison.com and WVBU 90.5 FM.

The Bison (16-24 overall, 7-5 PL) are coming off of a two-week road stretch in which the team split a pair of road series opposite Patriot League opponents. Against Army West Point and Lafayette, the Bison won the first game of all four doubleheaders to split the matchups against both opponents. Most recently, the Bison dropped a non-league game to Penn State 9-5 on Tuesday.

Penn State utilized a five-run first inning to grab the early lead and never relinquished it throughout the game. Bucknell staged a late rally, scoring four runs in the seventh inning. Brett Smith extended his hitting streak to a career-best 17 games with an RBI single in the frame, while Joe Ogren hit a three-run inside-the-park home run to bring the score to 7-5. However, the Nittany Lions scored two more in the eighth inning to secure the victory.

Catcher Evan Klugerman led the Bison against the Nittany Lions with two hits while also scoring a run, and Chuckie Scales contributed a run and RBI while getting on base twice. In relief, Connor Van Hoose and Tommy Gambon combined for 3.1 scoreless innings, while Max Kra and Jack Schoenberger allowed just two earned runs in their 4.1 innings of work.

With the return to Depew Field this weekend, the Bison will also return to Patriot League play versus Holy Cross. The Crusaders enter with an 18-22 overall record and are tied with the Bison for second place in the conference at 7-5. Holy Cross has won six of its last eight games, limiting opposing offenses to just 3.75 runs per game over that stretch.

Dating back to the first matchup between these two schools in 1991, Bucknell holds the all-time series lead over Holy Cross, 55-45, including wins in six of the past eight contests in 2014 and 2015. The Bison pitching staff has held the Crusaders to just 2.38 runs per game over that stretch.

Holy Cross enters the series with a .247 batting average and 3.76 ERA, compared to a .260 batting average and 5.18 ERA for the Bison. The Crusaders have the ability to change the game with one swing of the bat, having tallied a Patriot League-most 33 home runs on the season.

Bucknell has used the same rotation in each of its first three Patriot League series with Andrew Andreychik and Mike Castellani pitching on Saturday, and Dan Keller and Jack Grabek starting on Sunday.

Bucknell's offense has shown its strength in recent games. Sam Clark earned the Patriot League Player of the Week award after hitting .333 with four doubles and six RBIs in a recent five-game span. Smith also has a hot bat, leading the Bison with a .349 batting average, 32 runs, and a .500 slugging percentage.

With his inside-the-park home run against Penn State, Ogren has reached base safely in 17 consecutive contests, and now ranks first on the squad with seven multi-RBI games. Ogren has a six-game hitting streak and has scored one run in five consecutive contests.

In the bullpen, Gambon, Van Hoose and Austin Zimmerman all own ERAs under 3.50, while Keller is sporting a 3.04 ERA to go with three victories in his last three starts, all coming against Patriot League foes. Both he and Andreychik are undefeated (3-0) in Patriot League play this year.

Following this weekend's contests, the Bison will host La Salle for a single game on Tuesday. The game will begin at 3 p.m. The regular season will wrap up next weekend (April 30-May 1) with a four-game home series against first-place Navy.

Bucknell Baseball's 2016 Weekly Awards
Patriot League Player of the Week: Sam Clark (April 18)
Patriot League Rookie of the Week: Jeff Gottesman (Feb. 22), Jack Grabek (March 28)
Bison Athlete of the Week: Brett Smith (April 4)

Current Bison on Program Career Top-10 Lists
Andrew Andreychik: Shutouts (t-1st, 5), Wins (t-3rd, 17), Fewest Walks/9 in. (6th, 2.32), Strikeouts (6th, 166), Games Started (t-6th, 35), Innings Pitched (9th, 220.2), ERA (t-10th, 3.75)
Mike Castellani: ERA (7th, 3.36)
Max Kra: Appearances (t-9th, 53)
Jon Mayer: Hit by Pitch (t-6th, 23)
Joe Ogren: Hit by Pitch (1st, 38), Walks (2nd, 78), Games Started (5th, 178), Doubles (5th, 42), Games Played (5th, 178), Games Started (4th, 178), At Bats (5th, 628), Hits (8th, 188), Sac Flies (t-8th, 8), Runs Scored (10th, 123)
Danny Rafferty: Saves (8th, 6)
Brett Smith: Triples (t-7th, 11)