Baseball Drops Pair of Tight Games at Lehigh

Baseball Drops Pair of Tight Games at Lehigh

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Bucknell baseball team jumped out to early leads in both ends of Sunday's doubleheader at Lehigh, but the Mountain Hawks rallied both times and used effective relief pitching to claim 6-4 and 6-5 victories at Walker Field.

Bucknell allowed only four hits in each game – all singles – but was hampered by some control issues and two errors in each contest.

The Bison knocked out both of Lehigh's starting pitchers early, but the Mountain Hawks received 6.1 strong relief innings from Julio Ermigiotti in the opener and seven innings of one-run ball from Brandon Coughlin and David Andolina in the nightcap. Bucknell's bullpen was also outstanding, as Nikhil Patel allowed one run in 2.1 innings in game one, and then Brady Swenson and Graeme Carroll gave up only one hit in four combined shutout innings in game two.

Bucknell collected 14 hits in the two games, including a couple of milestone home runs in game two. Sophomore Michael Trommer hit his first career home run as part of a 3-for-3 game, and Sean Keys belted his 10th homer of the season, a three-run shot. With 24 career homers, Keys tied Jason Buursma for third on Bucknell's all-time list. He also became the 12th player in team history to record 100 career runs batted in.

Keys is just the third Bison to have two 10-homer seasons, joining Doug Shribman and Andrew Brouse, who are the only two players ahead of Keys on the career list with 43 and 30, respectively.

Both teams ended up 2-2 on the weekend. For Bucknell (12-19, 5-10 PL), Sunday's losses came on the heels of a doubleheader sweep of Lafayette, while Lehigh (18-12-1, 5-6 PL) bounced back after being swept by Navy a day earlier.

The Bison next host Mount St. Mary's in a non-league game on Wednesday, and then Lehigh returns the trip to Lewisburg for a three-game series next weekend.

Game 1 – Lehigh 6, Bucknell 4

Bucknell jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, as Lehigh starter Jack Hamilton struggled to find the plate. Hamilton hit four batters in the inning, one of which forced in a run. Tyler Dunn had the only hit in the rally, an RBI single, and Chris Morabito also drew a walk with the bases loaded.

Ermigiotti entered with two outs and the bases loaded in the first. He got a ground ball to escape that jam and then retired the side in order in the second and third.

Bison starter Jack O'Malley struck out five batters over the first two innings before Lehigh got on the board with an unearned run in the third. A two-out error kept the inning alive, and Rafe Perich delivered an RBI single to make it 3-1.

Bucknell's only run off Ermigiotti came in the fourth. Nic Adamo reached on an infield hit, Morabito doubled, and Brady Karp singled home Adamo. The Bison still had men at the corners with no outs, but Ermigiotti got two strikeouts and a ground ball to escape further damage.

Lehigh surged ahead with four runs on only one hit in the bottom of the fourth. Two walks and two hit batsmen plated the first run, Jake Whitlinger followed with a sacrifice fly, and Braydon Hubbard gave Lehigh the lead with a two-run single. The Mountain Hawks added an insurance run on Perich's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth.

Keys led off the seventh and final inning with a double, and Jacob Corson became the seventh batter in the game to be hit by a pitch. But Ermigiotti got a big 1-4-3 double play and another ground out to take the steam out of the rally.

Game 2 – Lehigh 6, Bucknell 5

Bucknell outhit Lehigh 9-4 in the nine-inning nightcap, but the Bison again had trouble finding a clutch hit against the Mountain Hawks bullpen.

Down 2-0 early, Bucknell took the lead with a four-run second against Lehigh starter Najir Glenn. The lefty retired the first two batters in the inning, but the next six Bison reached safely. After singles from Billy Fluharty and Karp, Billy Kender ripped a double into the left-field corner to drive in a run. Keys followed with a three-run homer deep over the wall in right to make it 4-2. Corson was hit by another pitch, Grant Voytovich singled, and Dunn got plunked to load the bases. Glenn did flag Luke Nascimento's sharply hit ball up the middle for the final out to strand three and end his afternoon.

Andrew Kohl's two-out RBI single off Mikey Myro tied it at 4-4 in the third, and the Mountain Hawks went up 6-4 on a two-out error in the fourth. Trommer's pinch-hit homer got the Bison back within a run in the fifth, but that would be their only run off the Lehigh bullpen.

Andolina came on in the seventh and issued two walks and a bunt single from Trommer, but he came up with a strikeout, a pop up, and a ground ball to short to escape the major jam. He retired the side in order in the eighth and allowed a two-out single to Trommer in the ninth, but a ground ball to first ended the game and gave Andolina his first save of the season.

Trommer (3-3) and Voytovich (2-4) had multi-hit games for the Bison. Relievers Swenson and Carroll allowed only one baserunner each over their four scoreless innings.

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Team Stats

Sean Keys

Tyler Dunn

Nic Adamo

Chris Morabito

Players Mentioned

Nic Adamo

Graeme Carroll

Jacob Corson

Tyler Dunn

Billy Fluharty

Brady Karp

Billy Kender

Sean Keys

Chris Morabito

Mikey Myro

Luke Nascimento

Jack O'Malley

Nikhil Patel

Brady Swenson

Michael Trommer

Grant Voytovich