Baseball Dominates in Doubleheader Sweep of Lafayette, 11-0 and 20-2

Friday, March 24

Lewisburg, Pa.

12:30 p.m.

Bucknell University

9-11, 0

Lafayette

3-18, 0

Lafayette

Bucknell

Photo by: Lianne Garrahan

Baseball Dominates in Doubleheader Sweep of Lafayette, 11-0 and 20-2

3/24/2023 8:01:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell baseball team continued its recent surge with dominant performances on the mound and at the plate in a doubleheader sweep of Patriot League rival Lafayette on Friday at Depew Field. Chris DiFiore tossed a two-hit shutout and Anthony Sherwin went 3-for-4 with four runs batted in an 11-0 win in the opener, and Will Greer pitched one-hit ball over seven innings in Bucknell's 20-2 rout in the nightcap.

Now 10-11 overall and 4-2 in the Patriot League, the Bison have won five straight and eight of their last 10 games. Lafayette fell to 3-19 overall and 0-2 in league play and saw its losing streak grow to 11.

DiFiore twirled his first career shutout in game one, allowing only two hits and a walk while striking out five. Greer picked right up where DiFiore left off, taking a perfect game into the fifth in game two. He conceded only an unearned run on one hit with eight strikeouts and one walk over seven innings.

Offensively, the Bison piled up 31 runs on 31 hits and drew 17 walks from eight different Leopards pitchers. The 31 runs were Bucknell's most in a single doubleheader since scoring 34 (15-3 and 19-1) against Clarion in 2012. This was the team's third-highest output ever in a Patriot League doubleheader, behind only the 33 runs against Lafayette in 2000 and 32 against Holy Cross in 1996.

Sherwin drove in six more runs on the day, giving him 14 in his last five games and 18 in 12 appearances this season. Kyle Lyons also had a big afternoon going 5-for-8 at the plate along with a tremendous running catch in the left-center alley.

Bucknell remains at home to take on Lehigh on Sunday, with the doubleheader slated to begin at 12 p.m. at Depew Field. The Mountain Hawks play two at Navy on Saturday before heading to Lewisburg.

Will Greer is dealing! He strikes out the side in the fourth and has punched out five of the last six. Bison still up 1-0. #rayBucknell

Watch: https://t.co/GHd9LgoipC @PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/43Bn24d1yf
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) March 24, 2023

Bucknell 11, Lafayette 0 – Game 1

The Bison took control of the opener with five runs in the bottom of the first inning, scoring four times before the first out was recorded. An RBI single from Tyler Dunn followed by a two-run double from Sean Keys made it 4-0, and Chris Klein brought home the fifth run with a fielder's choice.

Sherwin's two-run triple to deep center field made it 7-0 in the third, and then the Bison broke it open with three more runs on only one hit in the fourth. One run scored on a wild pitch, Sherwin's bases-loaded walk brought in another run, and Jacob Corson made it 10-0 on a run-scoring ground ball.

Sherwin singled home Lyons for his fourth RBI of the game in the sixth.

Anthony Sherwin with a 2-run triple off the wall in straightaway center and it's a 7-0 game! #rayBucknell

Watch: https://t.co/MiHKdq9tnJ @PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/xyzheNKlSY
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) March 24, 2023

Meanwhile, DiFiore was in complete command throughout. He allowed only a ground ball single from Michael Zarrillo in the second inning and an infield hit to Patrick Vandenbergh in the sixth. That was the only inning in which Lafayette managed to get two runners on base, but DiFiore induced three straight fly balls to Lyons in center and then worked a 1-2-3 seventh to close it out.

Bucknell scored 11 runs on nine hits in the game, with Sherwin (3-4), Keys (2-2), and Lyons (2-3) all collecting multiple hits.

Bucknell 20, Lafayette 2 – Game 2

The Bison pounded out a season-high 20 runs on 22 hits in the nightcap. Reserve outfielder Ben Sinins was the story in this one. Sinins was 0-for-2 on the season entering the game, but he came in as an early injury replacement and went 3-for-4 with four runs batted in and three runs scored. That output included a booming double that cleared the bases as part of Bucknell's eight-run sixth inning.

Billy Kender also had his first career three-hit game, and Lyons and Dunn added three more hits each. Mason Kelly and Nic Adamo tallied two hits and two RBIs apiece, and Keys notched his second straight two-hit game to extend his hitting streak to seven.

Lafayette starter Trace Florio looked good early before the Bison got on the board in the third. After Sinins singled and Grant Voytovich drew a 10-pitch walk, Dunn ripped a single through the hole on the right side to make it 1-0.

An RBI double into the right-field corner from Adamo and a two-run single from Sherwin made it 4-0 in the fourth.

Greer struck out the side in the fourth and retired the first 13 Leopards before Zarrillo reached on an error with one out in the fifth. One batter later, Kyle Chmielewski doubled off the wall in left, and Vandenbergh brought home Lafayette's first run of the day with a sac fly. Greer struck out Justin Grech with men at second in third to keep it a 4-1 game, and then the Bison blew it open with three runs in the fifth, eight in the sixth, and five more in the seventh.

Kender's RBI triple followed by a Kelly RBI double and a Lyons sac fly made it 7-1. Bucknell sent 13 men to the plate and tacked on eight runs and eight hits in the sixth, with all eight runs scoring with two outs. Keys' RBI double started a run of nine straight Bison reaching base, with the Sinins three-run double highlighting the rally.

The Bison began to clear the bench in the seventh inning, and a pinch-hit three-run double by Henry Novicki capped a five-run rally that made it 20-1.

Freshman Hadley Maxwell worked the final two innings in relief of Greer, allowing just a run on three hits. It was Greer's best outing of 2023, as he set season highs in innings pitched (7) and strikeouts (8).