Bucknell University
3-7
Niagara
2-11
Bucknell Baseball Downed by Niagara, 8-5, in Home Opener
3/11/2022 7:01:00 PM | Baseball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell University baseball team dropped its home opener to Niagara, 8-5, on Friday afternoon. The second game of Friday's doubleheader was called off due to darkness in the top of the fifth, thus not counting officially.
Bucknell rallied for three runs in the final inning of the seven-inning contest, capped off by a two-RBI single from Tyler Dunn on its final out, but Niagara rallied back with a three-run inning of its own in the ninth in taking the victory.
Niagara jumped out to an early lead, with Dawson Bailey hitting a home run on the second pitch he saw to left field before a sac fly from Cole Tucker scored Cole O'Connor and doubled the Purple Eagle lead.
The Bison tied the game in the second, as back-to-back singles from Tyler Dunn and Logan Kellerman put two men on with nobody out. Mason Kelly then moved the runners a base on a sac bunt, before a big two-RBI single from Kyle Lyons to right field tied the game at two.
The Purple Eagles responded in the sixth, scoring two runs in the frame before adding another run one inning later on a home run by Josh Marchese to take a 5-2 lead.
Anthony Sherwin started Bucknell's rally in the seventh, leading off the inning with a double, his fifth straight game with one. Sherwin then scored on a sac fly from Grant Voytovich for Bucknell's first run of the inning after moving up a base on a groundout.
Jacob Corson and Brendan Lowery then reached base on a single and a walk, respectively, moving up a base on a wild pitch by the Niagara pitcher. That set up Dunn's big hit to right field that tied the game on the last strike of the contest, 5-5.
However, Niagara found the winning runs in the ninth, capitalizing on an error by the Bison in the infield for the first run. Max Giordano then added two big insurance runs for the Purple Eagles on a two-RBI single, as Niagara earned its second win of the season in the process, 8-5.
Lyons, Dunn, and Corson each picked up multiple hits as the Bison managed 11 hits overall.
The Bison will now look ahead to a Tuesday matchup at Pitt at 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hospital, Steven (1-0)
L: Carroll, Graeme (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Desjardins, Brady 1
HR: Bailey, Dawson 1 ; Marchese, Josh 1
RBI: Bailey, Dawson 1 ; O'Connor, Cole 1 ; Marchese, Josh 1 ; Tucker, Cole 1 ; Giordano, Max 2 ; Desjardins, Brady 1
SF: O'Connor, Cole 1 ; Tucker, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bailey, Dawson 1 ; O'Connor, Cole 1 ; Marchese, Josh 1 ; Castellana, Nick 1 ; Ward, Matt 1 ; Tucker, Cole 1 ; Palmer, Wyatt 1 ; Mauro, Vincent 1
Batting:
2B: Sherwin, Anthony 1
RBI: Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Dunn, Tyler 2 ; Lyons, Kyle 2
SH: Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Kelly, Mason 1
SF: Voytovich, Grant 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sherwin, Anthony 1 ; Corson, Jacob 1 ; Lowery, Brendan 1 ; Dunn, Tyler 1 ; Kellerman, Logan 1
SB: Sherwin, Anthony 1 ; Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Kelly, Mason 1
HBP: Lowery, Brendan 1
