Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Return to Tar Heel State for 3-Game Series at North Carolina A&T
2/28/2018 8:54:00 PM | Baseball
Setting the Scene
Who: Bucknell (0-6, 0-0 PL) at North Carolina A&T (3-5, 0-0 MEAC)
When: Friday-Sunday, March 2-4
Where: War Memorial Stadium, Greensboro, N.C.
Live Stats: NCATAggies.com: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Weekend Schedule:
Game 1 (3/2): 4 p.m.
Game 2 (3/3): 2 p.m.
Game 3 (3/4): 1 p.m.
Probable Starters
Game 1: RHP Connor Van Hoose vs. RHP Tim Luth
Game 2: RHP Jeff Gottesman vs. RHP Marcello Betances
Game 3: LHP Jack Grabek vs. RHP Michael Johnson
About the Bison
• After playing three games at Duke last weekend, Bucknell returns to the Tar Heel State for a three-game series at North Carolina A&T Friday, Saturday and Sunday at War Memorial Stadium. The Bison and Aggies have never before met on the diamond.
• Bucknell is facing a difficult schedule to start the season and is looking for its first victory after dropping three games each at No. 4 Arkansas and Duke. After a rough go in the first two games against the Razorbacks, the Bison have been right in each of the last four games. They held the lead in four of the last five games, and had the tying or go-ahead run at the plate in the eighth inning or later in three of the last four.
• Patriot League Preseason Pitcher of the Year Connor Van Hoose bounced back with a stellar outing against the Blue Devils. In the series opener, he allowed just a run on three hits while striking out nine over six innings. He departed trailing 1-0, and Duke later tacked on six in the bottom of the eighth to win it 7-0. It was the sixth time in Van Hoose's career that he fanned nine or more batters in a game. He will again get the call in the series opener.
• Tyler Wincig excelled on the mound and at the plate in the Duke series. He went 3-for-7 with a double as a first-basemen in the first and third games, and in the Saturday contest he threw three scoreless innings in relief with three strikeouts. He leads the Bison with a .385 average on the season.
• Bucknell hit four home runs in the three games at the famed Durham Bulls Athletic Park. JohnPaul Bell hit two of them, along with one each from Evan Klugerman and Miles Moore. Moore's blast was a memorable one. It was the first career homer for the junior, as he turned around a 96-mph fastball and deposited it off the facing of the Tobacco Road restaurant beyond the left-field wall. Bell is tied for the Patriot League lead in home runs with Lafayette's Dan Leckie.
• Luke Johnson, a Preseason All-Patriot League selection, is off to a .333 start through six games and leads the team with eight hits. After going 0-for-4 in the opener at Arkansas, Johnson has hit in five straight with three multi-hit games. Klugerman is 5-for-17 (.294), and three of his five hits are for extra bases. Bell leads the team in RBIs (4) and runs scored (4).
• Bucknell out-hit Duke 28-24 in the three games.
Scouting North Carolina A&T
• The Aggies took 2 of 3 from Lehigh last weekend in Greensboro, scoring 21 runs in the three games, then they dropped a 12-3 decision to Davidson on Tuesday. Earlier in the year, North Carolina A&T held leads of 5-0 and 7-5 on N.C. State before falling 9-7.
• North Carolina A&T has a .258 team batting average, led by Milton Rivera with a sturdy .412 mark (14-37). Shane Faulk (.357) and Adan Ordonez (.308) are also over .300. Dawnoven Smith has five hits on the season, but three of them are home runs, and he has a team-high eight RBIs.
• On the hill, game-one starter Tim Luth has made two starts and is 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA. Marcello Betances has also started twice. He is 0-2 but has a 3.48 ERA and has struck out 11 in 10.1 innings. Michael Johnson is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA. He started the final game of the Lehigh series and pitched seven strong innings while benefitting from his team's nine-run outburst in the first inning.
• North Carolina finished 15-9 in the MEAC last season (28-25 overall) and was picked second in the MEAC preseason poll in 2018. The Aggies returned eight position players, two weekend starters and five of their top six bullpen arms this spring.
Looking Ahead
• Following this weekend's series in Greensboro, the Bison will play a single game at Mount St. Mary's next Wednesday before heading to Kissimmee, Fla., for Spring Break. Bucknell will play two games against Villanova followed by three against Massachusetts in Florida.
• The March 17 home opener vs. Navy will also be Bucknell's Patriot League opener. That will be a much-anticipated four-game series. Not only is it a rematch of last year's PL Tournament semifinal series, but the Bison will be making their debut in front of the brand new stadium facility at Depew Field.
