Bucknell University
1-4
Ball State
3-4
Bucknell Baseball Earns First Win, 7-2 over Ball State
2/25/2023 8:29:00 PM | Baseball
After dropping its first four games of the season, all to teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Bucknell outhit Ball State 10-4 on the way to its first win of 2023. The Cardinals, the preseason favorite in the Mid-America Conference who had already beaten Rutgers and Merrimack in Charleston, fell to 3-4 on the season.
DiFiore's only blemish was Matthew Rivera's two-run homer in the second inning that gave the Cardinals an early 2-0 lead. The Bison southpaw stranded runners at second and third later in that inning, and then he breezed through the next four.
Meanwhile, the Bison got a run back in the top of the fourth on the first of two RBI singles from Kyle Lyons. One inning later, Matt Alexander led off with a walk, and Terwilliger followed with a blast to right-center to give Bucknell a 3-2 lead.
A few highlights from today's win over Ball State, starting with Jacob Terwilliger's go-ahead bomb in the 5th. #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/zGnu5A5mm8
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) February 26, 2023
It remained 3-2 until the Bison manufactured two big insurance runs in the seventh. Once again the rally started with Alexander's leadoff walk. Terwilliger singled, and Jake Wortman moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. Voytovich followed with a sac fly to right, and then Tyler Dunn went the other way for an RBI single to make it a 5-2 game.
Sean Keys doubled leading off the eighth and came around to score on Lyons' single, and then Voytovich capped the scoring with his second home run of the season with one out in the ninth.
DiFiore allowed just the two runs on four hits while striking out five in six innings of work. Farynick retired all six batters he faced, and then the freshman Osinksi struck out the side in the ninth.
Voytovich finished 3-for-4, and Keys, Lyons, and Terwilliger all tallied two hits apiece. Ryan Peltier, a Preseason All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, went 2-for-4 for the Cardinals.
Bucknell wraps up its trip to the Swig & Swine on Sunday morning against Merrimack. First pitch is slated for 9 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: DiFiore, Chris (1-1)
L: Jacob Hartlaub (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Keys, Sean 1
HR: Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Terwilliger, Jacob 1
RBI: Voytovich, Grant 2 ; Dunn, Tyler 1 ; Lyons, Kyle 2 ; Terwilliger, Jacob 2
SH: Wortman, Jake 1
SF: Voytovich, Grant 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Kender, Billy 1 ; Keys, Sean 1 ; Alexander, Matt 2 ; Terwilliger, Jacob 2
SB: Voytovich, Grant 1
CS: Lyons, Kyle 1
Batting:
HR: Matthew Rivera 1
RBI: Matthew Rivera 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Logan Flood 1 ; Matthew Rivera 1
HBP: Nick Gregory 1
