Saturday, March 30
Worcester, Mass.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
at
Holy Cross
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Baseball Journeys to Worcester for Three-Game Series at Holy Cross
3/28/2024 7:53:00 PM | Baseball
Bucknell (10-14, 3-5 PL) at Holy Cross (9-15, 1-3 PL)
When:Â Saturday-Sunday, March 30-31 (1 p.m. DH Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday)
Where:Â Fitton Field, Worcester, Mass.
Watch:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â GoHolyCross.com
Bucknell at a Glance
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When:Â Saturday-Sunday, March 30-31 (1 p.m. DH Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday)
Where:Â Fitton Field, Worcester, Mass.
Watch:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â GoHolyCross.com
Bucknell at a Glance
- Bucknell and Holy Cross square off for the second straight weekend, this time in a three-game series in Worcester. The Bison and Crusaders split a doubleheader last Sunday at Depew Field.
- Both teams got swept on Monday – Bucknell by Army and Holy Cross by Navy – and will be looking to move up in the Patriot League standings this weekend. Bucknell is 3-5 in league play, while Holy Cross is 1-3.
- Both teams got the bats going in mid-week wins. The Bison pounded out 17 hits in a 16-14 win at Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday, while Holy Cross drew 10 walks and took advantage of five Harvard errors in a 17-7 win on Wednesday.
- These will be Bucknell's first Patriot League road games after playing its first eight at home.
- Sean Keys headlined the win over Mount St. Mary's by becoming the fourth Bucknell player ever to hit for the cycle. Keys went 4-for-5 with four runs batted in and three runs scored. He followed Luke Nascimento's three-run double with an RBI double of his own to tie the game at 4-4 in the fourth and get his cycle started. Keys' seventh home run of the season leading off the top of the sixth pulled the Bison within 7-6, and his two-run triple into the right-field corner highlighted Bucknell's six-run seventh inning.
- Keys needed only the single to complete the cycle, and he got just that in the eighth when his chopper to the right side was fielded with a dive by first-baseman Shane Wockley, but he had no play on Keys at first. Bucknell's last cycle came from Bob Donato against Toledo in Winter Haven, Fla., in 2009. Coincidentally, Donato also finished off his cycle with a single. The only other cycles in team history came from Hall-of-Famer Ted Aceto against Pittsburgh in 1989 and Brian Hirschberg against Bloomsburg in 2003.
- Keys is slashing .424/.545/.847 for a 1.392 OPS, and he leads the Patriot League in all four of those percentage categories. He also leads the league in doubles with 11 and is second in hits (36) and third in home runs (7).
- In the national rankings, Keys ranks 32nd in batting average, 18th in OBP, 15th in SLG, and 9th in OPS.
- Sophomore Michael Trommer has emerged as Bucknell's regular designated hitter, and he is red-hot entering the Holy Cross series. Over his last eight games, he is 16-for-28 (.571) to raise his season average to .385, third-best in the PL.
- Freshman shortstop Andrew Swenson recently became eligible for the Patriot League batting title, and he is seventh in the league with a .340 average. Swenson also ranks third in the PL in SLG (.720) and fourth in OPS (1.161).
- Senior LF Jacob Corson is slashing .299/.398/.526 for a .924 OPS, and he is second on the team in RBIs with 22 despite hitting in the leadoff spot.
- Bucknell leads the Patriot League with a .285 team batting average. The Bison also have a league-high 51 doubles, and their .432 slugging percentage is second in the PL behind Army's .441. Â
- The Bison have struggled at time on the mound this season and come into the weekend with an 8.43 team ERA. ÂÂBut No. 1 starter Tyler O'Neill is coming off a good start in a win over Holy Cross last week, and freshman Jake Schultz picked up his first win with a strong relief outing at Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday. Schultz began the season in the rotation but missed two starts due to injury. Sophomore Mikey Myro and freshman Jack O'Malley have also had quality outings.
- O'Malley has struck out 33 batters in 20.0 innings this season. As a staff, the Bison have 201 strikeouts in 190.0 innings, but they have also walked 161. Â
- Senior Nikhil Patel got the final two outs at Mount St. Mary's for his first career save.
- 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 207 career wins are second-most in team history, trailing only Hall-of-Famer Gene Depew (591).
- In each of the past two seasons, Bucknell has fallen to Army in the best 2-of-3 Patriot League championship series. The Black Knights have won each of the last five titles. Army and Bucknell were picked 1-2 in this year's preseason poll.
- Bucknell is 63-70 all-time against Holy Cross. The Crusaders had won 13 of 15 after sweeping a doubleheader in Worcester last season, but the Bison took all three games in Lewisburg later in the year. Bucknell won by scores of 4-2, 7-5, and 7-5 to clinch the No. 2 seed for the Patriot League Tournament.
- Worcester has been a tough trip for Bucknell in recent years. The Bison are just 5-15 at Fitton dating back to 2017.Â
- The teams split a twin bill last Sunday at Depew Field. Bucknell took the opener 10-3 thanks to a pair of five-run innings in the fourth and fifth. Sean Keys went 3-for-4, Andrew Swenson drove in four runs, and Billy Kender, Michael Trommer, and Nic Adamo had two hits apiece. Tyler O'Neill pitched six strong innings for the win, while the Bison scored nine times off Holy Cross starter Alex Bryant. Gianni Royer went 2-for-3 with a home run for the Crusaders.
- Holy Cross returned the favor in the nightcap, winning 11-5. The Crusaders broke open a 3-2 game with back-to-back four-run innings in the sixth and seventh. Chris Baillargeon went 3-for-4 and drove in five runs, and Brendan Jones also had three hits in the nine hole. The Bison were held to four hits by four Holy Cross pitchers, three coming off the bat of Trommer. Mikey Myro allowed three runs on four hits in five innings, but the Crusaders scored eight runs (five earned) off the Bison bullpen.
- The Crusaders are hitting .258 as a team, led by Baillargeon (.316/.465/.461), who is ninth in the Patriot League in OBP.
- Bryant has been the best of the Crusaders' starting pitchers thus far. He was coming off two good outings against UC Riverside and Iona before Bucknell got to him early last time out.
- In the bullpen, Luke LeMond has made nine appearances and is 2-0 with a save and a 3.44 ERA.
- After the Holy Cross series, Bucknell heads to Penn State on Tuesday before heading to the Lehigh Valley for doubleheaders against Lafayette and Lehigh next weekend.
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