Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Navy
Baseball Secures Postseason Berth With Win Over Navy in Nightcap of Doubleheader
5/1/2016 7:44:00 PM | Baseball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Needing to win the second game of Sunday's doubleheader at rainy Depew Field to secure a berth in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament, the Bucknell baseball team came back from a 3-0 deficit and defeated Navy 6-4. Spencer Stokes was 4-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and Joe Ogren hit a home run in the eighth to provide a late insurance run.
Navy (37-12-1, 15-5), which will be the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament, won game one 15-0 and claimed three games in the weekend series.
Bucknell (17-32, 8-12 PL) entered the day one game ahead of fifth-place Lafayette in the Patriot League standings. The Leopards, who would have won any tiebreakers with the Bison, split their doubleheader with Holy Cross, so Bucknell entered the second game needing a win to extend its season.
Freshman Jeff Gottesman (2-4) got the start on the mound in the important game and pitched very well. The right-hander retired Navy in order in four of the six innings he pitched. And, outside of the fifth inning when the Mids plated three runs, he allowed just one hit. Gottesman exited two batters into the seventh inning in favor of Danny Rafferty, who was not charged with a run in three innings, to pick up his fifth save of the year.
Rafferty did allow back-to-back two-out singles in the top of the ninth to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but he got Robert Currie to line out to short to end the game.
After Navy took the 3-0 lead in the top of the fifth, Bucknell answered with a big inning of its own, plating five runs in the bottom of the frame. The Bison batted around and totaled three of their 11 hits in the inning.
The big hit in the fifth inning was a two-run triple by Stokes, while Sam Clark and Jon Mayer also knocked in runs in the inning.
Navy closed the gap to one run with a sac fly in the top of the seventh, but Ogren put an exclamation on the victory with a long home run to left field to make it 6-4 in the bottom of the eighth. It was the 10th home run of Ogren's career and the 203rd hit of his career, ranking him sixth in program history.
Navy starter Kyle Condry (5-1) suffered his first loss of the year as he gave up five runs on six hits in 4.1 innings. The Bison then touched reliever Sam Sorenson for one run on five hits and two walks in 3.1 innings.
In game one, Mids' starter Noah Song (7-2) and reliever Jackson Zoch combined on the team's 11th shutout of the year, allowing just three hits.
Currie had four hits and a pair of RBIs in game one for Navy, which totaled 17 hits in the contest. Travis Blue drove in a team-high three runs.
Game one was played in an off-and-on rain at Depew Field, while game two's start was delayed approximately an hour due to showers in the area.
Prior to the doubleheader, the Bucknell baseball program honored longtime head coach Gene Depew, who passed away in November at the age of 66. Members of Gene's family were on hand as his jersey was retired. Bucknell head coach Scott Heather presented Gene's widow, Debbie, with a framed No. 33 jersey, while Navy head coach Paul Kostacopoulos presented a signed jersey to the family.
Bucknell, which will be making its first trip to the Patriot League Tournament since winning the title in 2014, will take on Navy in the best-of-three semifinal series May 14-15 in Annapolis, Maryland.
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