Bats Come Alive as Baseball Routs Lehigh 18-8

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Michael Trommer recorded four hits, Jacob Corson and Chris Morabito homered, and the Bucknell baseball team got its bats going in an 18-8 run-rule rout of Lehigh on Sunday at sunny Depew Field. The Bison took two of three in the weekend series and improved to 7-11 in Patriot League play.

Bucknell's season-high 18 runs came on 16 hits, nine of which went for extra bases. Trommer had three of the team's seven doubles. His total and the team's total were both one shy of the school records. Corson and Morabito both hit blasts well over 400 feet. Corson's sixth homer of the year was part of a 3-for-4, four-RBI day, while the freshman Morabito's three-run shot in the fifth inning was the first of his career.

Here's a look at Chris Morabito's first collegiate home run! The freshman is 2-for-2 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored on the day, and the Bison are back up by 10. #rayBucknell https://t.co/LuuthEz3Q2 @ESPN | @PatriotLeagueTV pic.twitter.com/qOvtuJBtwa
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) April 14, 2024

Tyler Dunn also tallied three hits, and Morabito and Billy Kender had two each. After managing only three runs in a doubleheader split on Saturday, the Bison scored multiple runs in each of their first five at-bats in this one, including five spots in the first and third.

After Jack O'Malley (3-3) stranded runners at the corners in the top of the first, Bucknell wasted little time getting started offensively. The first five Bison reached base, including three straight doubles from Corson, Trommer, and Grant Voytovich to chase Lehigh starter Teddy Tolliver (2-2). With four runs already in, Voytovich stole third and scored on Nic Adamo's sacrifice fly to make it 5-0 after one frame.

Kender made a sensational diving catch on Justin Butler's liner up the middle to help O'Malley through a 1-2-3 inning in the second, and then the Bison scored three two-out runs in the bottom of the second. After Najir Glenn retired the first two hitters, Corson walked, Trommer doubled him home, Voytovich walked, and then Dunn drilled a base hit that scored both runners when the ball got away from the right-fielder.

A Bison error led to two unearned runs that got Lehigh on the board in the third, but another five-run outburst turned it into a 13-2 game. After run-scoring hits from Kender and Sean Keys, Corson crushed a pitch 421 feet into the pine trees beyond the right-field fence. Trommer followed with another double and Dunn singled him home with two outs to finish the rally.

Jacob Corson goes 421 feet into the pine trees in deep right. His 6th homer of the year makes it a 12-2 game in the 3rd inning! #rayBucknell https://t.co/LuuthEz3Q2 @ESPN | @PatriotLeagueTV pic.twitter.com/MBQQKdKcvc
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) April 14, 2024

Bucknell made it 15-3 in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Corson that sent Brady Karp around to third. The Bison then swiped an extra run on a double steal, as Corson stayed in a rundown long enough for Karp to scamper home.

Those tack-on runs proved big when Lehigh put a five-spot of its own on the board. Jake Whitlinger's bloop single off reliever Graeme Carroll made it a 15-8 game, but the Bison quickly restored their double-digit lead on Morabito's three-run shot in the bottom of the fifth.

Carroll was outstanding in relief, working 2.1 scoreless innings. He got some help from Corson in the sixth, as the Bison left-fielder threw out Tyler Young at the plate trying to score on Riley Davis' single. Carroll worked a 1-2-3 seventh to end the game on the 10-run rule.

Bucknell has a key mid-week game at Navy on Wednesday. The two teams split a four-game series at Depew Field earlier in the season.

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Team Stats

Michael Trommer

Jacob Corson

Tyler Dunn

Billy Kender

Players Mentioned

Nic Adamo

Graeme Carroll

Jacob Corson

Tyler Dunn

Brady Karp

Billy Kender

Sean Keys

Chris Morabito

Jack O'Malley

Michael Trommer

Grant Voytovich