Sunday, April 16
Lewisburg, Pa.
12 P.M.
Bucknell University
15-19, 0
2
vs
8
Army
23-12, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Army West Point
0
0
0
3
1
0
3
0
1
8
13
0
Bucknell
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
2
8
3
Baseball Swept by Army at Depew Field
4/16/2023 8:55:00 PM | Baseball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Patriot League-leading Army West Point finished off a three-game series sweep of the Bucknell baseball team with 8-2 and 9-4 wins on Sunday afternoon at Depew Field. The Black Knights extended their winning streak to 11 games in a row and improved to 24-12 overall and 12-2 in the Patriot League, while the Bison fell to 15-20, 8-10.
Despite the tough weekend, Bucknell held on to fourth place in the Patriot League standings. The Bison are a game-behind third-place Lafayette (7-7) and two games in front of fifth-place Lehigh (4-10). Army is two games in front of second-place Navy (12-6).
Bucknell came into the weekend hitting .320 as a team in league play, but Army's pitching limited the Bison to six runs in the three games. Bucknell did hit four home runs on Sunday, including two more off the bat of Sean Keys. He went deep in both games, including a 437-foot blast in the nightcap, and now has 10 home runs on the season. Keys is the 11th player in team history to reach 10 homers in a season and the first since Doug Shribman (16) and Bob Donato (10) did it in 2011.
Bucknell has a big week coming up, starting with a single game on Wednesday against Navy. The two teams split a four-game series in Annapolis last month, so Wednesday's game at Depew Field will determine the season series. The Bison then head to Bethlehem for a three-game series at Lehigh over the weekend.
Army 8, Bucknell 2 – Game 1
Bison starter Will Greer (3-4) faced the minimum nine batters through three innings, with the only baserunner reaching on an error before being nabbed trying to steal second by Nic Adamo.
The Black Knights got to Greer the second time through the order, however. Derek Berg and Sam Ruta hit back-to-back doubles to start the fourth inning. After a hit batsman, Ross Friedrich lined another double inside the right-field line to make it 3-0.
Bucknell had a couple of early scoring opportunities against Mike Ruggieri (5-1) but could not convert. The Bison put runners on second and third with one out in the first inning, but Army got out of it with a double play. They loaded the bases with two down in the third but again Ruggieri wiggled out of trouble.
Army added an unearned run in the fifth before the Bison got on the board in the sixth. Grant Voytovich was hit by a pitch but was brought back to the batter's box when it was ruled he did not attempt to avoid being hit. On the next pitch, Voytovich laced a triple up the right-center alley, and he scored two batters later on an infield hit by Billy Kender.
The Black Knights added three runs in the seventh on an error, a Kevin Dubrule RBI double, and a wild pitch. Keys yanked a two-out solo homer off the wall in right in the bottom of the eighth before Army closed the scoring on Friedrich's two-out RBI single in the ninth.
Adamo and Voytovich tallied two hits apiece for the Bison, while Dubrule and Friedrich both had three hits for Army.
Army 9, Bucknell 4 – Game 2
The Bison outhit the Black Knights 12-10 in Game 2 but were done in by one bad inning. Much like Greer in the first game, Tyler O'Neill (2-4) was sharp early. He retired the first seven hitters in the game and then fanned Ruta to strand two runners in the third.
Meanwhile, Bucknell took its first lead of the series when Anthony Sherwin hit the first pitch of the game from Matthew Ronnebaum (4-2) over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season.
Army tied it on a Coleson Titus RBI single in the fourth, and then in the sixth the Black Knights flipped the game with an eight-run outburst. O'Neill struck out Friedrich to start the inning, but then two walks and a passed ball led to a two-run tiebreaking single by Ethan Ellis. The Black Knights went on to send 14 men to the plate and scored eight times on five hits.
Down 9-1, Jacob Corson and Keys hit solo homers, and Corson delivered another run in the ninth with a two-out infield hit.
Sherwin went 3-for-5 in the leadoff spot for the Bison, and Keys, Corson, and Kyle Lyons all had two hits. Ruta and Addison Ainsworth tallied two hits each for Army.
Bucknell received good relief work from Theo Farynick and Ryan Osinski. Farynick struck out five in 2.2 scoreless innings, and Osinski pitched a scoreless ninth. Four Bison pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts in the game.
Despite the tough weekend, Bucknell held on to fourth place in the Patriot League standings. The Bison are a game-behind third-place Lafayette (7-7) and two games in front of fifth-place Lehigh (4-10). Army is two games in front of second-place Navy (12-6).
Bucknell came into the weekend hitting .320 as a team in league play, but Army's pitching limited the Bison to six runs in the three games. Bucknell did hit four home runs on Sunday, including two more off the bat of Sean Keys. He went deep in both games, including a 437-foot blast in the nightcap, and now has 10 home runs on the season. Keys is the 11th player in team history to reach 10 homers in a season and the first since Doug Shribman (16) and Bob Donato (10) did it in 2011.
Bucknell has a big week coming up, starting with a single game on Wednesday against Navy. The two teams split a four-game series in Annapolis last month, so Wednesday's game at Depew Field will determine the season series. The Bison then head to Bethlehem for a three-game series at Lehigh over the weekend.
Here's a look at the Sean Keys homer in the 6th inning. He got all of it ... 437 feet! #rayBucknell https://t.co/2QTbwDzvkd pic.twitter.com/eDy1bxxD3l
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) April 16, 2023
Army 8, Bucknell 2 – Game 1
Bison starter Will Greer (3-4) faced the minimum nine batters through three innings, with the only baserunner reaching on an error before being nabbed trying to steal second by Nic Adamo.
The Black Knights got to Greer the second time through the order, however. Derek Berg and Sam Ruta hit back-to-back doubles to start the fourth inning. After a hit batsman, Ross Friedrich lined another double inside the right-field line to make it 3-0.
Bucknell had a couple of early scoring opportunities against Mike Ruggieri (5-1) but could not convert. The Bison put runners on second and third with one out in the first inning, but Army got out of it with a double play. They loaded the bases with two down in the third but again Ruggieri wiggled out of trouble.
Army added an unearned run in the fifth before the Bison got on the board in the sixth. Grant Voytovich was hit by a pitch but was brought back to the batter's box when it was ruled he did not attempt to avoid being hit. On the next pitch, Voytovich laced a triple up the right-center alley, and he scored two batters later on an infield hit by Billy Kender.
The Black Knights added three runs in the seventh on an error, a Kevin Dubrule RBI double, and a wild pitch. Keys yanked a two-out solo homer off the wall in right in the bottom of the eighth before Army closed the scoring on Friedrich's two-out RBI single in the ninth.
Adamo and Voytovich tallied two hits apiece for the Bison, while Dubrule and Friedrich both had three hits for Army.
Army 9, Bucknell 4 – Game 2
The Bison outhit the Black Knights 12-10 in Game 2 but were done in by one bad inning. Much like Greer in the first game, Tyler O'Neill (2-4) was sharp early. He retired the first seven hitters in the game and then fanned Ruta to strand two runners in the third.
Meanwhile, Bucknell took its first lead of the series when Anthony Sherwin hit the first pitch of the game from Matthew Ronnebaum (4-2) over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season.
Army tied it on a Coleson Titus RBI single in the fourth, and then in the sixth the Black Knights flipped the game with an eight-run outburst. O'Neill struck out Friedrich to start the inning, but then two walks and a passed ball led to a two-run tiebreaking single by Ethan Ellis. The Black Knights went on to send 14 men to the plate and scored eight times on five hits.
Down 9-1, Jacob Corson and Keys hit solo homers, and Corson delivered another run in the ninth with a two-out infield hit.
Sherwin went 3-for-5 in the leadoff spot for the Bison, and Keys, Corson, and Kyle Lyons all had two hits. Ruta and Addison Ainsworth tallied two hits each for Army.
Bucknell received good relief work from Theo Farynick and Ryan Osinski. Farynick struck out five in 2.2 scoreless innings, and Osinski pitched a scoreless ninth. Four Bison pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts in the game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mike Ruggieri (5-1)
L: Greer, Will (3-4)
Batting:
2B: Derek Berg 1 ; Sam Ruta 1 ; Kevin Dubrule 1 ; Ross Friedrich 1 ; Bret Copelan 1
3B: Kevin Dubrule 1
RBI: Sam Ruta 1 ; Kevin Dubrule 2 ; Ross Friedrich 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Derek Berg 1 ; Sam Ruta 3 ; Kevin Dubrule 3 ; Bret Copelan 1
CS: Braden Golinski 1 ; Addison Ainsworth 1
HBP: Kevin Dubrule 1
PO: Ethan Ellis 1
Batting:
2B: Corson, Jacob 1
3B: Voytovich, Grant 1
HR: Keys, Sean 1
RBI: Keys, Sean 1 ; Kender, Billy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Keys, Sean 1
HBP: Sherwin, Anthony 1 ; Voytovich, Grant 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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IF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
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