Bucknell University
17-21, 0
Lehigh
20-19, 0
Bison Bats Explode in 20-3 Win over Lehigh in Series Finale
4/24/2022 5:08:00 PM | Baseball
Bucknell (17-21, 13-9 PL) pounded out 17 hits and drew 10 walks on the way to its highest-scoring output in more than 10 years. The last time the Bison put 20 on the board was in a 22-6 victory at James Madison on Feb. 25, 2012. Bucknell's last 20-spot in a home game was a 20-9 win over Navy in the clinching game of the 2003 Patriot League championship series.
Lowery's first-inning, three-run homer set the tone for the day, as the Bison put runs on the board in each of their first seven at-bats, including multiple runs in six of those seven. Kendall Pierson went 3-for-4 with a pair of walks, Grant Voytovich was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, and Anthony Sherwin scored four runs despite an 0-for-3 day. Sherwin drew three walks in the leadoff spot, as the top four hitters in the lineup combined to score 13 runs.
Not to be lost in all of the offensive fireworks was another terrific performance on the mound from Austin Odell. He worked seven innings, allowing just a run on four hits while striking out a career-high eight. Odell improved to 6-2 on the season, including 6-0 against Patriot League teams. His only losses this season have come against Iowa and Duke.
The Bison took the lead in the bottom of the first on Tyler Dunn's sac fly, and then with the runners moving on a 3-2 count with two outs, Lowery yanked a shot just inside the left-field foul pole for his third home run of the season and a 4-0 Bucknell lead.
💥BOOM! Brendan Lowery with a 2-out, 3-run jack to cap a 4-run first inning for the Bison!
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) April 24, 2022
Watch live on ESPN+: https://t.co/YDkiPHIjS8 pic.twitter.com/AYjQYFHmdU
Jacob Corson's two-run double highlighted a three-run second, and the Bison had an early 7-0 cushion. Lehigh's only run came on an RBI single from Casey Rother in the third, but the Bison immediately responded with Cannizzaro's double inside the bag at third that plated two runs in the bottom half.
Bucknell kept the runs coming against seven Lehigh pitchers. Lowery's RBI double pushed the Bison into double figures, Cannizzaro picked up two more RBIs on a single in the seventh that made it 18-1, and a pinch-hit, two-run double from Sean Keys finished off the scoring in the seventh.
Ben Christian (2-4) lasted just one inning and took the loss for Lehigh (20-19, 8-10 PL). The Mountain Hawks tallied eight hits, including two from Rother.
Bucknell has nothing but road games remaining in the regular season. The Bison visit Penn State on Tuesday night, then travel to first-place Army for a big three-game series next weekend.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Odell, Austin (6-2)
L: Christian, B (2-4)
Batting:
2B: Rother, C. 1
RBI: Rother, C. 1 ; Holtz, Sam 1 ; Young, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rother, C. 1 ; Sweeney, G. 1 ; Nole, A. 1
Batting:
2B: Cannizzaro, Chris 2 ; Corson, Jacob 2 ; Keys, Sean 1 ; Lowery, Brendan 1 ; Pierson, Kendall 1
HR: Lowery, Brendan 1
RBI: Cannizzaro, Chris 4 ; Voytovich, Grant 3 ; Corson, Jacob 2 ; Keys, Sean 2 ; Dunn, Tyler 2 ; Lowery, Brendan 4 ; Pierson, Kendall 1
SF: Dunn, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sherwin, Anthony 4 ; Cannizzaro, Chris 4 ; Voytovich, Grant 3 ; Corson, Jacob 2 ; Lowery, Brendan 1 ; Pierson, Kendall 1 ; Kellerman, Logan 2 ; Lyons, Kyle 3
HBP: Corson, Jacob 1
