Bucknell University Athletics
Saturday, May 13
Lewisburg, Pa.
12 p.m.
Bucknell University
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Navy (PL Semifinals)
23-26
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Navy
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Bucknell
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DiFiore’s Gem, Kender’s Walk-Off Hit Sends Bucknell Baseball to Patriot League Championship Series
5/13/2023 6:54:00 PM | Baseball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Chris DiFiore spun a three-hit shutout in game one, and Billy Kender ripped a dramatic two-strike, two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth in game two to send the second-seeded Bucknell baseball team to a sweep of the best-of-three Patriot League Tournament semifinal series from third-seeded Navy before a large crowd at Depew Field on Saturday. The Bison won by scores of 2-0 and 7-6 and will now celebrate their seniors' Graduation Day on Sunday before advancing to the championship series next week.
No. 4 Lafayette took the opener 7-5 from regular-season champion Army in the other semifinal. That series will wrap up on Sunday. If Lafayette wins, Bucknell would host the championship series starting on Monday, May 22. If Army comes back to take the series, the Bison would head to West Point for game one on Saturday, May 20.
Bucknell and Navy both went 14-11 in Patriot League play this season, and the Bison claimed the tiebreaker by winning the head-to-head series three games to two. These two evenly matched teams were at it again on Saturday, as the senior DiFiore turned in one of the best games of his career to outduel Nate Mitchell in the opener, and then Kender capped a ninth-inning rally to give Bucknell its 17th comeback win of the season and ninth in its final at-bat.
The Bison are headed to the final for the second year in a row and are seeking their seventh Patriot League title and first since 2014. Last season, Bucknell fell to top-seeded Army in a third and deciding game at Doubleday Field.
Bucknell's game-one win was the 200th for Scott Heather as Bucknell's head coach. Heather and Hall-of-Famer Gene Depew (591) are the only Bison baseball coaches to reach that milestone.
Bucknell 2, Navy 0 – Game 1
Senior southpaw Chris DiFiore was the story for the Bison in game one, as he allowed only four baserunners on the way to the nine-inning, complete-game shutout, the first of his career. DiFiore (6-5) maintained a remarkably low pitch count against the aggressive Navy hitters. He needed only 36 pitches to navigate the first five innings and was at 80 entering the ninth.
His only early blemishes were back-to-back singles from Logan Keller and Colin Smith in the second inning, but Brock Murtha lined into a double play to end the threat. DiFiore retired 11 in a row on only 24 pitches before issuing a walk with one out in the sixth. His first two strikeouts of the day came to the first two batters in the ninth, and then after Eduardo Diaz doubled with two outs, DiFiore retired Alex Smith on a fly ball to right to end it.
Meanwhile, Bucknell got the only run it needed in the bottom of the first. After Anthony Sherwin and Jacob Corson singled to start the inning, Sean Keys delivered a run with a sacrifice fly.
The Bison added a big insurance run in the sixth, with Keys' booming double off the top of the wall in right-center starting the rally. He was still at second two outs later, but Chris Klein hustled to leg out an infield hit to keep the inning alive, and then Jake Wortman sliced an RBI double into right to make it 2-0.
Bucknell out-hit Navy 9-3 in the game, with Corson leading the way with three hits in four trips. Keys went 2-for-2 with a walk and the sac fly.
Nate Mitchell (6-5) tossed 6.2 innings for Navy, allowing two runs on nine hits with one strikeout and two walks.
Bucknell 7, Navy 6 – Game 2
Senior righthander Will Greer picked right up where DiFiore left off in the nightcap. He had a 3-0 lead and took a no-hitter into the fourth inning, but Navy's bats finally came alive, tying the game on a two-run homer by Kyle Rausch followed by doubles from Colin Smith and Murtha.
Grant Voytovich's two-out RBI single gave the Bison the lead back in the bottom of the fourth, but Navy tied it on a double-play ball in the sixth and took its first lead of the day on sac fly and a wild pitch in the eighth.
The Bison got an important run back in the bottom of the eighth when Tyler Dunn led off with an opposite-field double and scored on Kender's single on a 1-2 pitch.
Nick Mulvey (3-0) stranded runners at second and third in a scoreless top of the ninth to keep it a 6-5 game, setting up yet another dramatic rally for the Bison in the bottom half.
Navy closer Landon Kruer (0-1) was looking for his school-record 10th save of the season, but he walked Sherwin and Corson to start the ninth. Kruer battled back to get a strikeout and foul pop from the dangerous Voytovich and Keys, but his hard slider caught Dunn in the foot to load the bases with two outs.
Kender fouled off a tough 2-2 breaking ball, then ripped a belt-high fastball up the middle to plate Sherwin with the tying run and Corson with the winning run as the Bucknell dugout emptied in celebration.
Kender, the First Team All-Patriot League second baseman, also had an extra-inning walk-off hit to beat Rhode Island on March 12 at Depew Field. He went 2-for-5 in this one and drove in all three of Bucknell's runs in the eighth and ninth innings.
Sherwin, Voytovich, and Dunn also had two hits as the Bison out-hit the Midshipmen 11-10. Keller went 3-for-5 to lead Navy.
Bucknell got to Navy's All-Patriot League starter Matthew Shirah early. Keys had an RBI double and Dunn a run-scoring single in the first inning, and then in the third Corson led off with a triple off the very top of the right-field fence and scored one pitch later on Voytovich's single through the right side.
Shirah allowed four runs on eight hits over four innings, while Greer went five innings and yielded four runs on five hits.
No. 4 Lafayette took the opener 7-5 from regular-season champion Army in the other semifinal. That series will wrap up on Sunday. If Lafayette wins, Bucknell would host the championship series starting on Monday, May 22. If Army comes back to take the series, the Bison would head to West Point for game one on Saturday, May 20.
Bucknell and Navy both went 14-11 in Patriot League play this season, and the Bison claimed the tiebreaker by winning the head-to-head series three games to two. These two evenly matched teams were at it again on Saturday, as the senior DiFiore turned in one of the best games of his career to outduel Nate Mitchell in the opener, and then Kender capped a ninth-inning rally to give Bucknell its 17th comeback win of the season and ninth in its final at-bat.
The Bison are headed to the final for the second year in a row and are seeking their seventh Patriot League title and first since 2014. Last season, Bucknell fell to top-seeded Army in a third and deciding game at Doubleday Field.
BISON WIN IT IN THE 9TH!!! Billy Kender is the hero with a 2-out, 2-strike, 2-run base hit and the Comeback Kids did it again! We're on to the @PatriotLeague championship series! #rayBucknell @PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN | @NCAABaseball | @D1Baseball pic.twitter.com/DKCx2B7WdA
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) May 13, 2023
Bucknell's game-one win was the 200th for Scott Heather as Bucknell's head coach. Heather and Hall-of-Famer Gene Depew (591) are the only Bison baseball coaches to reach that milestone.
Not to be lost in all of today's drama is @CoachHeather34 picking up his 200th win as Bucknell's head coach! Congrats skipper! #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/Dg9ahxyFMc
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) May 13, 2023
Bucknell 2, Navy 0 – Game 1
Senior southpaw Chris DiFiore was the story for the Bison in game one, as he allowed only four baserunners on the way to the nine-inning, complete-game shutout, the first of his career. DiFiore (6-5) maintained a remarkably low pitch count against the aggressive Navy hitters. He needed only 36 pitches to navigate the first five innings and was at 80 entering the ninth.
His only early blemishes were back-to-back singles from Logan Keller and Colin Smith in the second inning, but Brock Murtha lined into a double play to end the threat. DiFiore retired 11 in a row on only 24 pitches before issuing a walk with one out in the sixth. His first two strikeouts of the day came to the first two batters in the ninth, and then after Eduardo Diaz doubled with two outs, DiFiore retired Alex Smith on a fly ball to right to end it.
Meanwhile, Bucknell got the only run it needed in the bottom of the first. After Anthony Sherwin and Jacob Corson singled to start the inning, Sean Keys delivered a run with a sacrifice fly.
The Bison added a big insurance run in the sixth, with Keys' booming double off the top of the wall in right-center starting the rally. He was still at second two outs later, but Chris Klein hustled to leg out an infield hit to keep the inning alive, and then Jake Wortman sliced an RBI double into right to make it 2-0.
Bucknell out-hit Navy 9-3 in the game, with Corson leading the way with three hits in four trips. Keys went 2-for-2 with a walk and the sac fly.
Nate Mitchell (6-5) tossed 6.2 innings for Navy, allowing two runs on nine hits with one strikeout and two walks.
⚾️ Chris DiFiore 🔥 What a @PatriotLeague semifinal game for the senior! Check out his complete-game shutout for @Bucknell_BB.@NCAABaseball @espn pic.twitter.com/n8AaqeWxdI
— Patriot League on ESPN (@PatriotLeagueTV) May 13, 2023
Bucknell 7, Navy 6 – Game 2
Senior righthander Will Greer picked right up where DiFiore left off in the nightcap. He had a 3-0 lead and took a no-hitter into the fourth inning, but Navy's bats finally came alive, tying the game on a two-run homer by Kyle Rausch followed by doubles from Colin Smith and Murtha.
Grant Voytovich's two-out RBI single gave the Bison the lead back in the bottom of the fourth, but Navy tied it on a double-play ball in the sixth and took its first lead of the day on sac fly and a wild pitch in the eighth.
The Bison got an important run back in the bottom of the eighth when Tyler Dunn led off with an opposite-field double and scored on Kender's single on a 1-2 pitch.
Nick Mulvey (3-0) stranded runners at second and third in a scoreless top of the ninth to keep it a 6-5 game, setting up yet another dramatic rally for the Bison in the bottom half.
Navy closer Landon Kruer (0-1) was looking for his school-record 10th save of the season, but he walked Sherwin and Corson to start the ninth. Kruer battled back to get a strikeout and foul pop from the dangerous Voytovich and Keys, but his hard slider caught Dunn in the foot to load the bases with two outs.
Kender fouled off a tough 2-2 breaking ball, then ripped a belt-high fastball up the middle to plate Sherwin with the tying run and Corson with the winning run as the Bucknell dugout emptied in celebration.
Kender, the First Team All-Patriot League second baseman, also had an extra-inning walk-off hit to beat Rhode Island on March 12 at Depew Field. He went 2-for-5 in this one and drove in all three of Bucknell's runs in the eighth and ninth innings.
Sherwin, Voytovich, and Dunn also had two hits as the Bison out-hit the Midshipmen 11-10. Keller went 3-for-5 to lead Navy.
Bucknell got to Navy's All-Patriot League starter Matthew Shirah early. Keys had an RBI double and Dunn a run-scoring single in the first inning, and then in the third Corson led off with a triple off the very top of the right-field fence and scored one pitch later on Voytovich's single through the right side.
Shirah allowed four runs on eight hits over four innings, while Greer went five innings and yielded four runs on five hits.
⚾️ @Bucknell_BB wins in a thrilling Game 2 to sweep Navy in the @PatriotLeague Championship Semifinals.@NCAABaseball @espn pic.twitter.com/u0xqPUDMZu
— Patriot League on ESPN (@PatriotLeagueTV) May 13, 2023
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: DiFiore, Chris (6-5)
L: Mitchell, Nate (6-5)
Batting:
2B: Diaz, Eduardo 1
Batting:
2B: Corson, Jacob 1 ; Keys, Sean 1 ; Wortman, Jake 1
RBI: Keys, Sean 1 ; Wortman, Jake 1
SF: Keys, Sean 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sherwin, Anthony 1 ; Keys, Sean 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
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H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball1B/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
IF/OF
/ Baseball
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/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C
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