Sunday, March 31
Worcester, Mass.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
4
at
15
Holy Cross
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Baseball Drops Series Finale at Holy Cross
3/31/2024 4:21:00 PM | Baseball
WORCESTER, Mass. – John LeFleur's pinch-hit grand slam broke open a tight game in the third inning, and Holy Cross went on to score eight more runs in the fifth on the way to a 15-4 win over Bucknell in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday at Fitton Field.
Sean Keys had two hits, including his eighth home run of the season, and drove in a pair of runs, and Nic Adamo also had two hits for the Bison, who fell to 10-17 overall and 3-8 in the Patriot League. Jimmy King and Connor Cooney collected two hits each for the Crusaders, who scored their 15 runs on only eight hits, taking advantage of six walks and seven hit batsmen.
Adamo's RBI single gave the Bison a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but as was the case throughout much of Saturday's doubleheader, they left the bases loaded and were limited to just a single run. The Crusaders got the run back on Cooney's RBI single in the bottom of the second, but they too lamented not scoring more in the inning. Jacob Corson gunned down a runner at the plate with a great throw from left field, and Jack O'Malley struck out the final two batters of the inning to strand runners at second and third.
The Bison took the lead back when Keys clubbed a long home run down the right-field line leading off the third, but Jack Toomey tied it again in the bottom half when his fly ball to right-center carried over the wall for his third homer of the series.
O'Malley issued two walks and hit a batter to load the bases with one out. Fellow freshman Jake Schultz came out of the bullpen and struck out King for the second out. He quickly got ahead of Cooney, but his back-foot breaking ball caught a piece of Cooney's toe, forcing in a run. Holy Cross then made an early substitution, sending up LeFleur as a pinch-hitter for Zach Wieder in the nine spot in the order. The move worked, as LeFleur hit an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right-center for a grand slam and a 7-2 lead.
Tyler Dunn's RBI ground out scored Corson in the fifth, but then some command problems on the mound led to Holy Cross' eight-run rally. Three Bison pitchers hit four batters and walked two, and King capped the inning with a two-run single.
Nikhil Patel, who earned the save in Tuesday's win at Mount St. Mary's, pitched a scoreless sixth, but the Bison could not score in the seventh and the game was called on the 10-run rule.
Danny Macchiarola worked five innings to get the win for Holy Cross, which improved to 12-15 overall and 4-3 in the Patriot League.
Bucknell returns to action on Tuesday at Penn State at 4 p.m.
Sean Keys had two hits, including his eighth home run of the season, and drove in a pair of runs, and Nic Adamo also had two hits for the Bison, who fell to 10-17 overall and 3-8 in the Patriot League. Jimmy King and Connor Cooney collected two hits each for the Crusaders, who scored their 15 runs on only eight hits, taking advantage of six walks and seven hit batsmen.
Adamo's RBI single gave the Bison a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but as was the case throughout much of Saturday's doubleheader, they left the bases loaded and were limited to just a single run. The Crusaders got the run back on Cooney's RBI single in the bottom of the second, but they too lamented not scoring more in the inning. Jacob Corson gunned down a runner at the plate with a great throw from left field, and Jack O'Malley struck out the final two batters of the inning to strand runners at second and third.
The Bison took the lead back when Keys clubbed a long home run down the right-field line leading off the third, but Jack Toomey tied it again in the bottom half when his fly ball to right-center carried over the wall for his third homer of the series.
O'Malley issued two walks and hit a batter to load the bases with one out. Fellow freshman Jake Schultz came out of the bullpen and struck out King for the second out. He quickly got ahead of Cooney, but his back-foot breaking ball caught a piece of Cooney's toe, forcing in a run. Holy Cross then made an early substitution, sending up LeFleur as a pinch-hitter for Zach Wieder in the nine spot in the order. The move worked, as LeFleur hit an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right-center for a grand slam and a 7-2 lead.
Tyler Dunn's RBI ground out scored Corson in the fifth, but then some command problems on the mound led to Holy Cross' eight-run rally. Three Bison pitchers hit four batters and walked two, and King capped the inning with a two-run single.
Nikhil Patel, who earned the save in Tuesday's win at Mount St. Mary's, pitched a scoreless sixth, but the Bison could not score in the seventh and the game was called on the 10-run rule.
Danny Macchiarola worked five innings to get the win for Holy Cross, which improved to 12-15 overall and 4-3 in the Patriot League.
Bucknell returns to action on Tuesday at Penn State at 4 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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