Bucknell University
19-22, 0
Lafayette
14-29, 0
Baseball Opens Series with 12-3 Rout of Lafayette
4/26/2024 7:59:00 PM | Baseball
Now 10-13 in Patriot League play, the Bison moved ahead of 8-11 Lafayette into fourth place in the Patriot League standings. This weekend's series marks the end of Bucknell's regular season, while the Leopards will still have four games remaining. The Bison are also closing in on third-place Holy Cross (9-10), which fell 3-1 to Lehigh on Friday.
The Bison seem to have recovered from an early-April slump, averaging 10.3 runs over their last seven games. This was the third time in the last four games hitting the 10-run mark, with Sean Keys, Jacob Corson, and Michael Trommer leading the way with long home runs.
Keys went 3-for-4 to raise his season average to a Patriot League-best .407, and Corson collected two hits, four RBIs, and four runs scored. Trommer, Grant Voytovich, and Chris Morabito also recorded two hits each, and Brady Karp drew three of the team's 10 walks.
Bucknell wasted little time, scoring three times in the first inning against freshman starter Tristan Helmick (2-5). Corson drove in Keys with a single, and later in the inning Tyler Dunn was plunked with the bases loaded and Nic Adamo followed with a sacrifice fly.
After Lafayette got on the board on Michael Zarrillo's two-out RBI single in the third, the Bison started to pull away in the fourth when Keys and Corson hit consecutive pitches over the center-field wall. In the fifth, Karp hustled home on Corson's foul pop caught by the second baseman, and Voytovich drove in Billy Kender with a base hit to center for his 100th career RBI and a 7-1 lead.
SEAN KEYS GOES DEEP! #rayBucknell
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) April 26, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/DHGjg4FYJl@ESPN | @PatriotLeagueTV pic.twitter.com/nfNbn4XAlT
BACK-TO-BACK! One pitch after the Keys homer, Jacob Corson follows suit, and the Bison lead 5-1. #rayBucknell
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) April 26, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/DHGjg4FYJl@ESPN | @PatriotLeagueTV pic.twitter.com/xrlfvloJYS
Bucknell went up 10-2 in the sixth, when Trommer's sharp single got away from the right-fielder, allowing two runs to score. Trommer barreled up another win in the bottom of the eighth, blasting a 108 mph rocket over the wall in right for a 12-3 lead.
Here's a look at the Michael Trommer homer. That one got out of here in a hurry! #rayBucknell
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) April 26, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/DHGjg4FYJl@ESPN | @PatriotLeagueTV pic.twitter.com/Qqm8Pm93ts
O'Neill, who normally works the seven-inning weekend opener, went into the eighth for the first time as all three games in this series are scheduled for nine innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out seven in 7.1 innings and improved to 4-5 on the season. Nick Mulvey and Jonathan Adelmann followed with scoreless relief appearances. Both of Mulvey's outs came via the strikeout, and Adelmann added the team's 10th K of the day in the ninth.
The Bison are now 3-0 on the season against Lafayette and have clinched the season series. The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 1 p.m., with Senior Day ceremonies to precede the first pitch.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: O'Neill, Tyler (4-5)
L: Tristan Helmick (2-5)
Batting:
2B: Ethan Swidler 1 ; Michael Zarrillo 1 ; Teddy Cashman 1 ; Ben Petrone 1 ; Michael Mallas 1
RBI: Michael Zarrillo 1 ; Teddy Cashman 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ethan Swidler 1 ; Michael Zarrillo 1 ; Easton Brenner 1
HBP: Blaze Fadio 1
PO: Blaze Fadio 1
Batting:
2B: Kender, Billy 1 ; Keys, Sean 1
HR: Keys, Sean 1 ; Corson, Jacob 1 ; Trommer, Michael 1
RBI: Keys, Sean 1 ; Corson, Jacob 4 ; Trommer, Michael 3 ; Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Dunn, Tyler 1 ; Adamo, Nic 1
SF: Corson, Jacob 1 ; Adamo, Nic 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kender, Billy 1 ; Keys, Sean 3 ; Corson, Jacob 4 ; Trommer, Michael 2 ; Morabito, Chris 1 ; Karp, Brady 1
HBP: Keys, Sean 1 ; Dunn, Tyler 1 ; Morabito, Chris 1
