Bucknell University
21-22, 0
Lafayette
14-31, 0
Baseball Finishes Off Sweep of Lafayette, Clinches Postseason Berth with 13-6 Win
4/28/2024 5:59:00 PM | Baseball
Bucknell concludes the regular season with a 12-13 Patriot League record, and they cannot be caught by 8-13 Lafayette (the Bison would hold a tiebreaker by virtue of a 5-0 head-to-head record) or 7-14 Lehigh, both of which have four games remaining. The Bison will be the No. 4 seed unless Holy Cross (11-10) loses all four of its remaining games. The Crusaders, who won the season series against Bucknell, have home doubleheaders against Lehigh and Lafayette next weekend.
At the top of the standings, Army (14-7) scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat Navy (15-10) 7-6 on Sunday. The Black Knights won that season series 3-2 and would need just one win in four at home next weekend against Lehigh and Lafayette to secure the No. 1 seed.
The Bison probably wish the Patriot League Tournament started tomorrow, as their bats are absolutely scorching. Bucknell hit .434 with eight home runs, 21 extra-base hits, and 40 runs scored in the three-game sweep of Lafayette. Kender, Keys, and Jacob Corson, the top three in the batting order, went 23-for-40 (.575) with seven home runs, 21 RBIs, and 20 runs scored. Keys drove in 10 runs and Corson hit four homers, including the first three-homer game in school history on Saturday. Keys upped his season average to .416 and now has 57 RBIs, tied for sixth-most in team history and four shy of his career high set last season.
Including last Tuesday's 18-10 non-league win over Villanova, the Bison have now scored 10 or more runs in four straight games for the first time since 2008, and this is the first time in team history that they have tallied 12 or more runs in four straight.
Lafayette took its first lead of the series on Easton Brenner's sacrifice fly against Bucknell starter Mikey Myro in the top of the first inning. That advantage lasted exactly one batter, however, as Kender crushed Joey Pence's fourth pitch of the day 421 feet over the left-field wall. Grant Voytovich followed with an RBI single four batters later, and the Bison regained the lead for good.
Billy knew it right away! It's a 421-foot leadoff jack for Kender to tie the game at 1-1. #rayBucknell
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) April 28, 2024
WATCH: https://t.co/Lsm0TViQx1@ESPN | @PatriotLeagueTV pic.twitter.com/yLZXueA68O
Bucknell broke it open with a five-run third inning against reliever Pat Walega. Dunn, who was 3-for-5 on the day, slapped an RBI single through the left side to get the rally going. Nic Adamo moved runners up to second and third with a bunt, and with the Lafayette infield drawn in, shortstop Matt Colella had to make a tumbling catch in shallow center on Chris Morabito's pop-up, and Voytovich hustled in from third. After a walk and an infield hit loaded the bases, Keys cleared them with a three-run triple into the right-field corner.
Dunn belted an RBI triple of his own in the fourth to make it 8-1, and after the Leopards put two on the board in the fifth, Bucknell added three more in the sixth on Morabito's run-scoring triple, Brady Karp's squeeze bunt, and a run-scoring double by Keys.
Blaze Fadio's three-run homer in the seventh brought Lafayette within 11-6, but freshman Jonathan Adelmann shut the door with two strong innings of relief, allowing one hit while striking out four.
Bucknell closed out the scoring with two in the bottom of the eighth. Ryan Facinelli drove in a run with a pinch-hit double, and pinch-runner Michael Chiaravallo scored on Karp's foul pop caught by the second-baseman down the line.
Bucknell out-hit Lafayette 17-10 and played error-free defense behind the mound trio of Myro, Graeme Carroll, and Adelmann. In addition to his five hits, Kender also made the defensive play of the day, diving up the middle to snag Ben Petrone's ground ball and then throwing him out from his knees to end the seventh inning.
Billy Kender is having a day! Five hits, and now a web gem to go with it. Incredible diving play up the middle and throw to end the top of the 7th. #rayBucknell #PLTop3
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) April 28, 2024
WATCH: https://t.co/Lsm0TViQx1@ESPN | @PatriotLeagueTV pic.twitter.com/NZ47uAmak3
Carroll pitched three innings in middle relief and earned the win to improve to 5-0 on the season.
Prior to the game, coach Scott Heather and the Bison program honored its eight seniors: Adamo, Carroll, Corson, Nikhil Patel, Bryce Reimer, Ben Sinins, Voytovich, and Connor Vucovich.
Now 21-22 overall and 12-6 at home this season, the Bison will take a break for final exams while awaiting the start of the postseason. They will travel to either Army or Navy for the Patriot League Tournament semifinal series on the weekend of May 10-12.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Carroll, Graeme (5-0)
L: Joey Pence (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Matt Colella 1 ; Ethan Swidler 1 ; Easton Brenner 1
HR: Blaze Fadio 1
RBI: Blaze Fadio 4 ; Easton Brenner 1 ; Teddy Cashman 1
SF: Blaze Fadio 1 ; Easton Brenner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Matt Colella 2 ; Ethan Swidler 2 ; Michael Zarrillo 1 ; Blaze Fadio 1
HBP: Matt Colella 1 ; Michael Zarrillo 1
Batting:
2B: Kender, Billy 1 ; Keys, Sean 1 ; Dunn, Tyler 1 ; Adamo, Nic 1 ; Facinelli, Ryan 1
3B: Keys, Sean 1 ; Dunn, Tyler 1 ; Morabito, Chris 1
HR: Kender, Billy 1
RBI: Kender, Billy 1 ; Keys, Sean 4 ; Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Dunn, Tyler 2 ; Morabito, Chris 2 ; Facinelli, Ryan 1 ; Karp, Brady 2
SH: Adamo, Nic 1 ; Karp, Brady 2
SF: Morabito, Chris 1 ; Karp, Brady 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kender, Billy 3 ; Corson, Jacob 1 ; Trommer, Michael 2 ; Voytovich, Grant 1 ; Dunn, Tyler 2 ; Adamo, Nic 1 ; Morabito, Chris 1 ; Chiaravallo, Michael 1 ; Karp, Brady 1
HBP: Trommer, Michael 1 ; Voytovich, Grant 1
