Saturday, May 14
Lewisburg, Pa.
12 p.m.
Bucknell University
vs
Lehigh (PL Semifinals)
Photo by: Denise Lyons
Bucknell Baseball Set to Host Patriot League Semifinal Series
5/13/2022 12:51:00 PM | Baseball
First Pitch Set for Noon on Saturday
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell University baseball team (19-23, 14-11 PL) is set to host the Patriot League Semifinal Series on Saturday with a noon first pitch against third-seeded Lehigh (26-22, 12-13 PL). The Bison will play a doubleheader against the Mountain Hawks in the best two-out-of-three series, with a deciding game three set for Sunday, May 15, if necessary. Admission to the game is free of charge.
Bucknell returns to the Patriot League playoff field after a three-year absence, and will host a Patriot League Semifinal series for the first time since the 2014 season.
Live Stats Live Video (ESPN+) ($)
Bucknell returns to the Patriot League playoff field after a three-year absence, and will host a Patriot League Semifinal series for the first time since the 2014 season.
Live Stats Live Video (ESPN+) ($)
- Bucknell will take on the Mountain Hawks for the first time in postseason play since that 2014 season, in which the two programs met in the Patriot League Championship series. Bucknell took both games at Depew Field in the championship, with the only other meeting between the two schools in the tournament coming in 2006 in which Lehigh took all three games in Bethlehem.
- The Bison enter the weekend after a week hiatus, last falling to Army on Sunday, May 1. The top-seeded Black Knights will take on Holy Cross in the other matchup of the Patriot League Tournament this weekend.
- This will be the sixth time that the Bison have hosted a series in the Patriot League Tournament at Depew in the 26-year history of the league. Bucknell won it all on its home field in 1996, 2003, 2009, and 2014.
- The Bison went 2-3 against the Mountain Hawks this year, with Lehigh taking two of three against the Bison in Lewisburg earlier this season. Lehigh swept a doubleheader on Saturday, April 23, before taking an emphatic 20-3 win in the series finale.
- Bucknell has had offensive success against the Mountain Hawks, with four players posting at least eight hits in the five matchups this season in Kyle Lyons (9-for-19), Grant Voytovich (10-for-22), Jacob Corson (9-for-21), and Tyler Dunn (8-for-20). Corson also delivered a career-best six RBIs in Bucknell's 14-8 win over the Mountain Hawks on April 3.
- Seven Bison earned All-Patriot League accolades, with Chris Cannizzaro earning first team honors. Brendan Lowery, Tyler Dunn, Austin Odell, Will Greer, Jacob Corson, and Grant Voytovich all earned second team accolades. Additionally, Anthony Sherwin was named to the Academic All-League squad, with Lowery and Corson joining the sophomore on the team. The three selections for the team on the Academic All-League squad were the third-highest in program history.
- The Bison finished 10-7 at Depew this season, securing its first winning season at Depew since 2019. The Mountain Hawks will enter the game with an 11-15 road record.
- The Mountain Hawks boast two-time Patriot League Player of the Year Casey Rother and First-Team selections Luke Rettig and Adam Retzbach, with the latter also being named the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year earlier this week.
- Cannizzaro followed up his excellent junior campaign with another solid year as a senior, ranking in the top 10 in the Patriot League in numerous categories despite missing seven games earlier this season. Cannizzaro finished third in the league in average (.350), fourth in slugging (.552), ninth in on-base percentage (0.414), fourth in doubles (12), and seventh in home runs (5). A team captain, Cannizzaro also earned the Bucknell athletic department's Bradley N. Tufts Award, as well as being named to the Senior CLASS 30-man shortlist earlier this season.
- Rettig and Greer will most likely face off in Saturday's game one, with Rettig ranking first in ERA (2.01) and Greer fifth (3.88). The junior from Cohasset, Mass. has stepped into the No. 1 role this season admirably, posting a 5-3 record with 72 innings pitched and 44 strikeouts overall. The reliable Greer has also managed to pitch at least six innings in nine appearances this season.
- Odell will figure to be the game two starter for the Bison, and has enjoyed a breakout senior campaign, recovering from an injury early on in his career to earn Second Team All-Patriot League honors while helping the Bison to a 6-1 record in conference games in contests that he's started this season. The senior has gone at least seven innings in four straight outings, including a fantastic eight-strikeout performance against the Mountain Hawks on April 24 in Bucknell's series-finale win.
- The Bison will look to keep the offensive momentum going against the Mountain Hawks after exploding for its most runs in over 10 years in a 20-3 victory. The Bison, hitting .269 as a team this season, are hitting at their highest average as a team since the 2012 team hit .288 as a unit. Bucknell's 254 runs this season are also the most by the team in a single season since 2011, when Bucknell scored 286 runs in 53 contests. The Bison registered 18 hits in a game against Lehigh in Bethlehem earlier this season, and also managed 17 in the series finale at Depew on April 24.
- Bucknell's seven doubles against Lehigh in the win in Lewisburg were tied for the most by any Patriot League team this season in a single game this season. Four Bison have put together at least 13 multi-hit games this season in Kyle Lyons (13), Voytovich (14), Cannizzaro (14), and Corson (15). Voytovich owns Bucknell's longest hitting streak to date this season at 11, while senior Kendall Pierson owns Bucknell's current longest streak at five games.
- Leading the way in runs scored is Sherwin, who has touched home 43 times this season, just three shy of earning a spot on Bucknell's single-season top 10 list. Sherwin also ranks third on Bucknell's single-season list in walks with 33 this year.
- First-year Dunn was one of two rookies to be named to the All-Patriot League teams, and has reached base in each of his last 14 games, the first baseman also put together a seven-game hitting streak earlier this year.
- Despite conceding a school-record 18 walks against Saint Joseph's in a midweek game earlier this season, the Bison pitching staff have cut down on walks tremendously, ranking first in the Patriot League with 183 walks allowed overall, and first in the league with 75 allowed in conference games, just ahead of Army (77). The Bison also rank first in fielding percentage in conference games (0.979), committing just 17 errors in league play this season.
- The winner of this weekend's series will face the winner of Army-Holy Cross in the other semifinal. The highest remaining seed will host the Patriot League Championship Series, set to begin on Friday, May 20.
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