
Baseball Set for Four-Game Series vs. UMass in Virginia
2/22/2024 3:12:00 PM | Baseball
** SCHEDULE UPDATE: Friday's game has been pushed back to a 5:30 p.m. start.Â
Bucknell (1-2) vs. Massachusetts (0-0)
When:Â Friday, Feb. 23, 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 24, 12 p.m. (DH); Sunday, Feb. 25, 12 p.m.
Where:Â Shepherd Stadium, Colonial Heights, Va.
Bucknell at a Glance
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Bucknell (1-2) vs. Massachusetts (0-0)
When:Â Friday, Feb. 23, 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 24, 12 p.m. (DH); Sunday, Feb. 25, 12 p.m.
Where:Â Shepherd Stadium, Colonial Heights, Va.
Bucknell at a Glance
- The Bison head to the Richmond area this weekend to play a four-game, neutral-site series against the UMass Minutemen, who will be making their 2024 debut.
- Bucknell comes in with a record of 1-2 after opening the season last weekend in Spartanburg, S.C. Day one did not go as planned, as the Bison fell 14-3 to Towson and 17-9 to Wofford. Bucknell rebounded on Sunday, however, beating Towson 7-3 behind some strong pitching from two freshman arms.
- Rookies Jake Schultz (3.2 inn.) and Jack O'Malley (2.1) blanked the Tigers through six innings. O'Malley was particularly impressive in relief, striking out five while allowing just one hit on the way to his first collegiate win. Junior southpaw Nick Mulvey escaped jams in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings to record the save.
- Jacob Corson went 3-for-5 with a triple, and he drove in a run and scored another in the win over Towson. Nic Adamo collected his second two-RBI hit of the weekend to give the Bison some insurance in the sixth inning.
- Sean Keys picked up where he left off after a sensational 2023 season. In the three games last week, Keys reached base in 11 of his 16 plate appearances, and he belted his first home run of the campaign against Wofford. He went 5-for-10 with three walks and was hit by pitches three times. Keys also stole a pair of bases in the Towson win.
- Three freshmen and two juniors collected their first career base hits last weekend. Junior infielders Brady Karp (1-6) and Matt Alexander (2-6) both made starts and picked up hits. Andrew Swenson (3-4), Luke Nascimento (2-4), and Chris Morabito (1-4) all started against Wofford and combined for six hits.
- This is Bucknell's second of three southern trips in the non-league portion of the schedule. The Bison will play a three-game series at Campbell March 8-10 and then visit George Mason on the way back. Campbell and George Mason were both NCAA Tournament teams last season.
- Head coach Scott Heather is in his 12th season at the helm, tying him with Bill Lane (1946-57) as the third-longest tenured coach in program history. Heather's 202 career wins are second-most in team history, trailing only Hall-of-Famer Gene Depew (591).
- The Minutemen are looking for a bounce-back season after finishing 14-35 overall and 6-18 in the Atlantic 10 last season. UMass returns 19 players from last season and has added eight freshmen and eight transfers.
- The Bison will see a couple of friendly faces this week, as Bucknell alumni Renn Lints '22 and Jacob Terwilliger '23 now play for UMass as grad students.
- Among UMass's top returnees is sophomore infielder Justin Blumenthal, who earned A-10 All-Rookie Team honors after leading the team with a .361 average. Blumenthal drove in 22 runs and was the 11th-toughest player in the nation to strike out.
- Senior Nolan Tichy hit .326 last season and led the squad with 12 home runs and 12 doubles. Junior Carter Hanson returns after hitting .302 with nine homers a year ago.
- UMass struggled on the mound last season, finishing with a 7.66 team ERA and .323 opponent batting average. Lints led the team with 18 appearances, including one start, and was 1-1 with a 5.13 ERA.
- Bucknell is 3-8 against the Minutemen in a series that dates back to 1996. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2018, when UMass swept a three-game series in Kissimmee, Fla. All three were high-scoring, one-run games, with UMass winning each in its final at-bat, 10-9, 9-8, and 12-11. In the series finale, the Bison scored five times in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 11-11, only to see the Minutemen walk it off in the bottom half.Â
- Following the UMass series, Bucknell is slated to open its home schedule on Saturday, March 2 against another Atlantic 10 foe in Saint Joseph's. The teams will play a doubleheader starting at noon, and then they will head to Philadelphia for a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
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