Baseball Hosts Holy Cross in Key Weekend Series, Senior Day Planned for Sunday

Saturday, April 29

Lewisburg, Pa.

12 p.m.

Bucknell University

Holy Cross

Photo by: Lianne Garrahan

Baseball Hosts Holy Cross in Key Weekend Series, Senior Day Planned for Sunday

4/27/2023 11:57:00 AM | Baseball

Holy Cross (13-30, 4-14 PL) at Bucknell (18-21-1, 11-11 PL)
When: Saturday, Apr. 29, 12 p.m. (DH); Sunday, Apr. 30, 1 p.m.
Where: Depew Field, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_BB

Bucknell at a Glance

After a productive week of Patriot League play, the Bison are right back in the mix to host a Patriot League Tournament semifinal series and can at least lock up a postseason bid this weekend when Holy Cross comes to Depew Field for a three-game series. The Bison and Crusaders are slated to play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.
Sunday will be the team's Senior Day, with nine seniors honored: Chris DiFiore, Theo Farynick, Will Greer, Mason Kelly, Chris Klein, Kyle Lyons, Henry Novicki, Jacob Terwilliger, and Jake Wortman.
Army is now 16-2 in the Patriot League and has gained considerable separation on the rest of the pack. The Black Knights swept a three-game set from rival Navy (12-10 PL) in Annapolis last week while the Bison (11-11) were taking two of three at Lehigh, so Bucknell is now just a game behind the Midshipmen for second place. Also of note, Bucknell's 5-1 mid-week win over Navy gave the Bison a 3-2 edge in the season series, which would serve as the head-to-head tiebreaker if needed.
While Bucknell hosts Holy Cross (4-14), Navy plays three at Lehigh (6-12) this weekend. Army hosts Lafayette (9-9) in the other Patriot League series. Those games also significantly impact the Bison, as they are tied for third with Lafayette on winning percentage, although Bucknell has also won that season series with the Leopards. Bucknell and Navy conclude Patriot League play this weekend, while the other four teams all still have four games remaining.
The series at Lehigh was another wild one, as Bucknell bookended the weekend with a pair of come-from-behind 8-7 wins. Grant Voytovich was the story in the seven-inning series opener, as he hit a three-run home run in the first inning and a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth. His seven runs batted in marked a career high and the most by any Patriot League player this season.
Lehigh took the weather-delayed second game 10-4, and then the Bison furnished even more drama in Sunday's finale. With his team down 7-5 in the top of the ninth and down to its final out, Jacob Corson hit a go-ahead three-run homer, and then second-baseman Billy Kender made a diving catch to end the game and strand the tying and winning runs in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth.
Bucknell won the season series from Lehigh four games to one. The first series win also included a dramatic, two-out walk-off home run by Sean Keys.
Bucknell has trailed in 13 of its 18 wins this season, including six in which the winning run came in its final at-bat.
The Bison also came from behind to salvage a rain-shortened tie in its final non-league game of the year on Wednesday at Saint Joseph's. Keys' three-run homer helped Bucknell jump out to a 6-0 lead before the Hawks rallied with seven straight runs. The Bison tied it in the fifth when Jacob Terwilliger was hit by a pitch and later scored on a passed ball, and the game was called in the sixth due to heavy rain.
Shortstop Anthony Sherwin was 2-for-3 with a walk at Saint Joseph's after going 7-for-11 in the Lehigh series, and he currently leads the Patriot League in on-base percentage (.507) while ranking second in batting average (.375) and third in OPS (1.096). He is hitting .464 (13-28) with runners in scoring position.
Despite missing nine games due to injury, Sherwin also ranks in the top-10 in the league in runs scored (7th, 35), walks (5th, 28), and doubles (8th, 12).
Sherwin is trying to become just the fourth Bucknell player ever to finish a season with a .500 on-base percentage. Hall-of-Famers Randy Ruger (.557 in 1969) and Ted Aceto (.525 in 1989) have the top two marks, and Tyler Wincig also accomplished the feat with a .500 OBP in 2019.
Keys is in the midst of a huge sophomore season for the Bison. The third baseman hit his team-leading 11th home run of the season on Wednesday, and he currently ranks third in the Patriot League in both home runs and RBIs (49).
Keys' 11 homers are tied for seventh-most in a season in Bucknell history, and the most since Hall-of-Famer Doug Shribman hit 16 in 2011. Keys' 49 RBIs is now tied for eighth-most in team history and the most since Shribman posted that same total in 2011.
In addition to his HR and RBI totals ranking among the Patriot League's best, he is also in the top-10 in batting average (9th, .317), slugging percentage (4th, .628), and OPS (5th, 1.044).
Voytovich has two grand slams among his eight home runs this season. In addition to his four-RBI blast at Lehigh on Saturday, he also hit a slam in Bucknell's 17-14 win at Penn State on Apr. 4. The eight home runs are tied for sixth-most in the league.
Voytovich went 4-for-4 in the win over Navy last week and 5-for-12 in the Lehigh series, and he is now hitting .310 with eight homers and 34 RBIs on the season.
Kyle Lyons ranks 10th in the Patriot League in batting with a .317 average.
Jacob Corson's dramatic ninth-inning homer at Lehigh was his seventh of the season. Corson his hitting .265 on the campaign and is eighth in the league with a .425 OBP.
As a team, Bucknell ranks third in the Patriot League with a .284 team batting average and fourth with a 6.49 team earned-run average.
The Bison have been opportunistic this season, with a .326 average with runners in scoring position and a .351 average with the bases loaded.
Freshman closer Ryan Osinksi was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Monday. He closed out all three of Bucknell's wins last week and earned his fifth and sixth saves of the season in the Lehigh series. Osinski, who has a 2.45 ERA and .140 opponent batting average, is second in the league in saves behind Navy's Landon Kruer with 10.
Chris DiFiore leads the team with four wins, followed by Will Greer and reliever Theo Farynick with three apiece.
Osinski, Farynick (3.00 ERA), and Nick Mulvey (3.06) have been Bucknell's top arms out of the bullpen this season.

Holy Cross at a Glance/Series History

The Crusaders are 4-14 in Patriot League play and looking to move out of the basement in the standings, but they have certainly been a thorn in Bucknell's side in recent years. Including two wins in Worcester on Apr. 3, Holy Cross has taken 12 of the last 14 series meetings from the Bison.
Holy Cross dropped two of three to Lafayette at home last weekend but rebounded with a 7-5 non-league win over Dartmouth on Tuesday.
The Crusaders feature one of the league's top two-way players in sophomore Sean Scanlon. At the plate, Scanlon is slashing .310/.476/.535 and has five homers, 30 RBIs and a Patriot League-leading 17 doubles. Scanlon is second in the league in on-base percentage behind Bucknell's Anthony Sherwin and is seventh in OPS at 1.011.
On the mound, Scanlon has made 14 appearances with 13 starts and is 0-2 with a 5.67 ERA.
Scanlon also leads the league in walks with 33, just ahead of teammates Jake McElroy (32), and Connor Cooney (31). Bucknell's Sherwin and Jacob Corson are tied for fourth with 28, so the league's top five in walks will all be on the field this weekend.
Jack Toomey (.308) and Cooney (.301) are also hitting over .330 for Holy Cross, and Toomey has a team-high six home runs along with 16 doubles.
Holy Cross won 7-4 and 12-8 in the doubleheader sweep of Bucknell on Apr. 3. The Crusaders jumped out to big leads in both games. They went up 5-0 in the opener and 10-0 in the nightcap before holding off comeback attempts from the Bison.

The Bison are 62-69 all-time against Holy Cross and have struggled against the Crusaders in recent years. Holy Cross has won 12 of the last 14 meetings, including eight straight over the 2019 and 2021 seasons (the teams did not play in 2020).
Holy Cross won three of the five clashes last season, with all three of its wins coming by one run.
Bucknell did win 6-1 at home and 8-0 in Worcester last season.

Looking Ahead

Following the Holy Cross series, the Bison will break for final exams. If they are in the four-team field, the Patriot League Tournament starts on Saturday, May 13.