Bucknell University Athletics
Tuesday, April 4
University Park, Pa.
6 p.m.
Bucknell University
14-14
17
at
14
Penn State
14-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Bucknell
1
5
1
0
0
2
0
4
4
17
17
4
Penn State
0
0
2
1
3
2
0
6
0
14
13
2
Photo by: Ben Popko
Voytovich, Keys Send Bison Baseball Squad to Bonkers 17-14 Win at Penn State
4/4/2023 10:21:00 PM | Baseball
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In a season full of dramatic, come-from-behind wins, none was wilder than what took place on Tuesday night at Penn State. Hardly demoralized by an ugly bottom of the eighth inning, Grant Voytovich tied the game with an RBI single in the top of the ninth, and Sean Keys followed with a go-ahead three-run home run to send the Bucknell baseball team to a crazy 17-14 victory over the Nittany Lions before a crowd of 1,641 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Voytovich went 4-for-6 with six runs batted in, and it was his second-inning grand slam that helped stake the Bison to an early 7-0 lead. Keys also drove in six with a 3-for-5 night, and Anthony Sherwin and Jacob Corson added three hits and scored four runs apiece. Those four -- the top four in the Bucknell batting order – went 13-for-20 with six doubles, two homers, 14 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
Penn State (14-11) chipped away at its early deficit and pulled within one run on a couple of occasions, but the Bison held on to the lead and seemed to be in good shape after a four-run eighth inning gave them a 13-8 lead. But then disaster struck in the bottom half of the inning.
Penn State took advantage of two errors and used four hits, three stolen bases, and four wild pitches to score six unearned runs. Grant Norris' chopper up the middle plated the tying and go-ahead runs, and suddenly the Nittany Lions had their first lead of the night at 14-13.
Bucknell (14-14) already had nine come-from-behind wins on the season, and they made it 10 with a dramatic ninth-inning rally off Penn State flamethrower Tommy Molsky, whose first pitch of the inning hit 96 mph on the stadium radar gun.
Sherwin got it going with a one-out walk, and Corson grounded a base hit up the middle to put runners at the corners. Voytovich pulled a base hit through the left side to tie the game, and then Keys cleared the tall wall in right for a three-run homer. It was his seventh long ball of the season and his second game-winner. He hit a three-run walk-off shot against Lehigh nine days ago.
Bucknell still had three big outs to get with the top of the order due up for Penn State. Theo Farynick, who ran into some bad luck on some softly-hit balls in the eighth, worked a 1-2-3 ninth. With the game being played in the shadows of Bryce-Jordan Stadium across the street, 17-14 was ultimately a fitting final score.
The Bison finished with 17 hits in the game and scored their most runs ever against Penn State in a series that dates back to 1886 and now includes 160 meetings. Their previous high was 16 in a 17-16 loss in 1999, and Bucknell's most runs in a win over Penn State was 15 in 1950 (15-3).
Not feeling the effects of playing a fifth game in three days, which included a post-midnight return from Holy Cross after Monday's doubleheader in Worcester, Mass., the Bison jumped on Penn State starter Kellan Tulio early, as back-to-back doubles by Corson and Voytovich put them on the board just three batters into the game.
Tulio lost his command in the second, walking the bases loaded before being removed for Chad Rogers. Rogers walked in a run, and then Voytovich pulverized a ball into the picnic area beyond the wall in left for a grand slam and a 6-0 lead.
The Bison added a run with a two-out rally in the third. Kyle Lyons singled, stole second, and scored on Anthony Sherwin's double down the left-field line.
Meanwhile, first-time starter Ryan Osinski breezed through the first eight hitters in the Penn State lineup before running into trouble with a hit batsman and two walks. Bryce Reimer came out of the bullpen and got a ground ball from Jay Harry, but it snuck through the right side for a two-run single.
Penn State added another run in the fourth and three more in the fifth two creep within a run at 7-6, but the Bison added two insurance runs in the sixth. Voytovich's third extra-base hit of the night set them up with men at second and third, and Keys doubled to the opposite field to make it 9-6.
The Nittany Lions got those runs back in the bottom half of the inning, as a two-out error opened the door for a couple of unearned runs.
Freshman Hadley Maxwell struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh, and then the Bison seemingly broke it open with four in the top of the eighth. A single from Sherwin and a double from Corson started the rally, and then Sherwin beat a throw to the plate from the drawn-in second baseman. With the bases loaded and two outs, Tyler Dunn, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, ripped a double into the left-center gap to score two, and then the third run came home when the throw back to the infield got away.
Bucknell used five pitchers in the game, while Penn State ran eight pitchers to the mound. Josh Spiegel and Billy Gerlott both had two hits and three RBIs for the Nittany Lions.
The Bison continue their nine-game road trip with a three-game series at Lafayette this Saturday and Sunday.
Voytovich went 4-for-6 with six runs batted in, and it was his second-inning grand slam that helped stake the Bison to an early 7-0 lead. Keys also drove in six with a 3-for-5 night, and Anthony Sherwin and Jacob Corson added three hits and scored four runs apiece. Those four -- the top four in the Bucknell batting order – went 13-for-20 with six doubles, two homers, 14 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
Penn State (14-11) chipped away at its early deficit and pulled within one run on a couple of occasions, but the Bison held on to the lead and seemed to be in good shape after a four-run eighth inning gave them a 13-8 lead. But then disaster struck in the bottom half of the inning.
Penn State took advantage of two errors and used four hits, three stolen bases, and four wild pitches to score six unearned runs. Grant Norris' chopper up the middle plated the tying and go-ahead runs, and suddenly the Nittany Lions had their first lead of the night at 14-13.
Bucknell (14-14) already had nine come-from-behind wins on the season, and they made it 10 with a dramatic ninth-inning rally off Penn State flamethrower Tommy Molsky, whose first pitch of the inning hit 96 mph on the stadium radar gun.
Sherwin got it going with a one-out walk, and Corson grounded a base hit up the middle to put runners at the corners. Voytovich pulled a base hit through the left side to tie the game, and then Keys cleared the tall wall in right for a three-run homer. It was his seventh long ball of the season and his second game-winner. He hit a three-run walk-off shot against Lehigh nine days ago.
M9 | Bucknell 17, Penn State 14
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) April 5, 2023
Mood 👇 pic.twitter.com/i2C2Tr9BjR
Bucknell still had three big outs to get with the top of the order due up for Penn State. Theo Farynick, who ran into some bad luck on some softly-hit balls in the eighth, worked a 1-2-3 ninth. With the game being played in the shadows of Bryce-Jordan Stadium across the street, 17-14 was ultimately a fitting final score.
The Bison finished with 17 hits in the game and scored their most runs ever against Penn State in a series that dates back to 1886 and now includes 160 meetings. Their previous high was 16 in a 17-16 loss in 1999, and Bucknell's most runs in a win over Penn State was 15 in 1950 (15-3).
Not feeling the effects of playing a fifth game in three days, which included a post-midnight return from Holy Cross after Monday's doubleheader in Worcester, Mass., the Bison jumped on Penn State starter Kellan Tulio early, as back-to-back doubles by Corson and Voytovich put them on the board just three batters into the game.
Tulio lost his command in the second, walking the bases loaded before being removed for Chad Rogers. Rogers walked in a run, and then Voytovich pulverized a ball into the picnic area beyond the wall in left for a grand slam and a 6-0 lead.
The Bison added a run with a two-out rally in the third. Kyle Lyons singled, stole second, and scored on Anthony Sherwin's double down the left-field line.
Meanwhile, first-time starter Ryan Osinski breezed through the first eight hitters in the Penn State lineup before running into trouble with a hit batsman and two walks. Bryce Reimer came out of the bullpen and got a ground ball from Jay Harry, but it snuck through the right side for a two-run single.
Penn State added another run in the fourth and three more in the fifth two creep within a run at 7-6, but the Bison added two insurance runs in the sixth. Voytovich's third extra-base hit of the night set them up with men at second and third, and Keys doubled to the opposite field to make it 9-6.
The Nittany Lions got those runs back in the bottom half of the inning, as a two-out error opened the door for a couple of unearned runs.
Freshman Hadley Maxwell struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh, and then the Bison seemingly broke it open with four in the top of the eighth. A single from Sherwin and a double from Corson started the rally, and then Sherwin beat a throw to the plate from the drawn-in second baseman. With the bases loaded and two outs, Tyler Dunn, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, ripped a double into the left-center gap to score two, and then the third run came home when the throw back to the infield got away.
Bucknell used five pitchers in the game, while Penn State ran eight pitchers to the mound. Josh Spiegel and Billy Gerlott both had two hits and three RBIs for the Nittany Lions.
The Bison continue their nine-game road trip with a three-game series at Lafayette this Saturday and Sunday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Farynick, Theo (3-0)
L: Molsky, Tommy (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Sherwin, Anthony 1 ; Corson, Jacob 2 ; Voytovich, Grant 2 ; Keys, Sean 1 ; Dunn, Tyler 1
HR: Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Keys, Sean 1
RBI: Sherwin, Anthony 1 ; Corson, Jacob 1 ; Voytovich, Grant 6 ; Keys, Sean 6 ; Dunn, Tyler 2
SH: Lyons, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sherwin, Anthony 4 ; Corson, Jacob 4 ; Voytovich, Grant 3 ; Keys, Sean 2 ; Kelly, Mason 1 ; Novicki, Henry 1 ; Wortman, Jake 1 ; Lyons, Kyle 1
SB: Lyons, Kyle 1
HBP: Keys, Sean 1
Batting:
RBI: Harry, Jay 2 ; Spiegel, Josh 3 ; Gerlott, Billy 3 ; Norris, Grant 3 ; Cooper, Tyson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hannon, Kyle 3 ; Bramley, Thomas 2 ; Harry, Jay 2 ; Spiegel, Josh 2 ; Gerlott, Billy 1 ; Marsh, Bobby 1 ; Kailher, Ben 1 ; Cooper, Tyson 2
SB: Hannon, Kyle 2 ; Bramley, Thomas 1 ; Harry, Jay 1 ; Gerlott, Billy 1 ; Cooper, Tyson 1
HBP: Cooper, Tyson 1
PO: Hannon, Kyle 1
Game Leaders
AB
6
R
3
H
4
RBI
6
AB
4
R
4
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
4
H
3
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
1B/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballSaint Francis University Women's Water Polo Vs. Harvard (2/21/26)
Saturday, February 21
University of Michigan Women's Water Polo Vs. Brown (2/21/26)
Saturday, February 21
Mercyhurst Women's Water Polo Vs. Princeton (2/22/26)
Saturday, February 21
Bucknell Women's Water Polo Vs. Harvard (2/21/26)
Saturday, February 21