Saturday, May 11
West Point, N.Y.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
22-22
4
at
3
Army (PL Semifinals)
27-21
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5
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7
8
9
R
H
E
Bucknell
0
1
0
0
1
0
2
0
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4
8
1
ARMY West Point
0
0
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0
0
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2
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1
3
6
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Photo by: Mady Salvani
O’Neill’s Gem Lifts Bison Baseball to 4-3 Win over Army in Game 1 of PL Semifinal Series
5/11/2024 4:36:00 PM | Baseball
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Tyler O'Neill pitched a nine-inning complete game, Michael Trommer and Jacob Corson homered, and a well-executed defensive play to end the game helped the Bucknell baseball team defeat Army West Point 4-3 in the opener of a best-of-three Patriot League Tournament semifinal series on Saturday at Doubleday Field.
O'Neill threw a career-high 140 pitches in one of the best outings of his career. He was working on a two-hit shutout through six innings and then survived an unlucky break in the sixth and a furious Army rally in the ninth. Now 5-5 on the season, O'Neill allowed two earned runs on six hits while striking out eight.
Army had a run in and runners at the corners with two outs in the ninth. On an 0-2 count with leadoff hitter Chris Barr at the plate, Addison Ainsworth broke for second. Bison catcher Nic Adamo checked the runner back to third before firing a strike to second, and shortstop Brady Karp chased down Ainsworth with a diving tag before Zac Farrell could cross the plate.
"Tyler O'Neill showed a ton of courage and pitched like an ace for us today," said head coach Scott Heather. "The eighth inning was his best inning, and he wanted the ball in the ninth. He got a big strikeout for the second out and really battled."
Bucknell, the fourth seed in the tournament, improved to 22-22 on the season, while No. 1 seed and five-time defending champion Army fell to 27-21. Games two and three (if necessary) will be played on Monday back here at Doubleday Field.
Patriot League Pitcher of the Year Justin Lehman worked a 1-2-3 first inning, but Trommer led off the second with an opposite-field home run, his fourth of the year, to give the Bison an early 1-0 lead. Bucknell stranded two runners in the second, third, and fourth, then finally cashed in a second run in the fifth. Sean Keys and Corson walked to start the inning, Keys moved to third on Trommer's fly ball, and then Grant Voytovich hit the first pitch through the left side to make it 2-0.
Bucknell increased its lead to 4-0 in the seventh when Keys doubled with one out, followed by Corson's 385-foot home run over the wall in right.
Meanwhile, O'Neill was dealing on the mound for the Bison. Army's first hit of the day was a two-out triple by Barr in the third, but O'Neill jammed Derek Berg on the next pitch and induced a pop-up to first base to end the inning. With two outs and nobody on in the sixth inning, O'Neill got Berg on another pop fly to the right side, but this time the Bison infield was shifted over to the left side, and right-fielder Chris Morabito couldn't make the diving catch in shallow right. Berg went all the way around to third, and after a Sam Ruta walk, O'Neill retired the dangerous William Parker on a slow grounder to short to end the inning.
Ethan Ellis broke up the shutout with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh, and then a bad break resulted in a second Army run. With two outs and Ellis at third, Karp fielded Thomas Schreck's ground ball at short and threw wide to first. Replays showed that first-baseman Tyler Dunn got his foot back to the bag in time to retire the hitter, but Schreck was ruled safe, and the call was upheld after an umpires' discussion.
O'Neill retired Army's 2-3-4 hitters in order in the eighth and he was handed the ball in the ninth with a two-run lead. He retired Braden Golinski on a shallow fly ball on the first pitch of the inning, but then Coleson Titus walked and Ellis roped another double into the left-field corner.
Ainsworth hit a hot smash to second that Kender could only knock down, making it a 4-3 game with runners at first and third and one out. Schreck couldn't get a safety squeeze bunt down and then struck out on a 1-2 pitch for the second out. O'Neill quickly got ahead of Barr, but he didn't need to throw another pitch as his teammates executed the double-steal defense.
"That's an old Gene Depew play, the first-and-third steal," said Heather. "It's a very hard play to defend but it's something we practice a lot. The key is not letting the runner get a big jump off third, and Nic did a great job with that."
Adamo went 2-for-3 with a walk, in addition to his big defensive play. Keys, who received his Patriot League Player of the Year award before the game, reached base three times with a double and two walks. The Bison out-hit Army 8-6.
Lehman (5-3) threw 111 pitches of his own and allowed four runs on eight hits over seven innings. He struck out three and walked four.
O'Neill threw a career-high 140 pitches in one of the best outings of his career. He was working on a two-hit shutout through six innings and then survived an unlucky break in the sixth and a furious Army rally in the ninth. Now 5-5 on the season, O'Neill allowed two earned runs on six hits while striking out eight.
Army had a run in and runners at the corners with two outs in the ninth. On an 0-2 count with leadoff hitter Chris Barr at the plate, Addison Ainsworth broke for second. Bison catcher Nic Adamo checked the runner back to third before firing a strike to second, and shortstop Brady Karp chased down Ainsworth with a diving tag before Zac Farrell could cross the plate.
BISON WIN! Here's how it ended. Army tried a double steal with two outs and the tying run at third, and Brady Karp chased him down before the run scored. WHEW! #rayBucknell @PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/sDtSg3gDzX
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) May 11, 2024
"Tyler O'Neill showed a ton of courage and pitched like an ace for us today," said head coach Scott Heather. "The eighth inning was his best inning, and he wanted the ball in the ninth. He got a big strikeout for the second out and really battled."
Bucknell, the fourth seed in the tournament, improved to 22-22 on the season, while No. 1 seed and five-time defending champion Army fell to 27-21. Games two and three (if necessary) will be played on Monday back here at Doubleday Field.
Patriot League Pitcher of the Year Justin Lehman worked a 1-2-3 first inning, but Trommer led off the second with an opposite-field home run, his fourth of the year, to give the Bison an early 1-0 lead. Bucknell stranded two runners in the second, third, and fourth, then finally cashed in a second run in the fifth. Sean Keys and Corson walked to start the inning, Keys moved to third on Trommer's fly ball, and then Grant Voytovich hit the first pitch through the left side to make it 2-0.
Bucknell increased its lead to 4-0 in the seventh when Keys doubled with one out, followed by Corson's 385-foot home run over the wall in right.
SEE YOU LATER! Jacob Corson belts a 2-run homer, and the Bison lead 4-0 in the 7th. #rayBucknell
— Bucknell Baseball ⚾️ (@Bucknell_BB) May 11, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/i4NJkzGbFY@PatriotLeagueTV | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/mFKXvJQUGg
Meanwhile, O'Neill was dealing on the mound for the Bison. Army's first hit of the day was a two-out triple by Barr in the third, but O'Neill jammed Derek Berg on the next pitch and induced a pop-up to first base to end the inning. With two outs and nobody on in the sixth inning, O'Neill got Berg on another pop fly to the right side, but this time the Bison infield was shifted over to the left side, and right-fielder Chris Morabito couldn't make the diving catch in shallow right. Berg went all the way around to third, and after a Sam Ruta walk, O'Neill retired the dangerous William Parker on a slow grounder to short to end the inning.
Ethan Ellis broke up the shutout with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh, and then a bad break resulted in a second Army run. With two outs and Ellis at third, Karp fielded Thomas Schreck's ground ball at short and threw wide to first. Replays showed that first-baseman Tyler Dunn got his foot back to the bag in time to retire the hitter, but Schreck was ruled safe, and the call was upheld after an umpires' discussion.
O'Neill retired Army's 2-3-4 hitters in order in the eighth and he was handed the ball in the ninth with a two-run lead. He retired Braden Golinski on a shallow fly ball on the first pitch of the inning, but then Coleson Titus walked and Ellis roped another double into the left-field corner.
Ainsworth hit a hot smash to second that Kender could only knock down, making it a 4-3 game with runners at first and third and one out. Schreck couldn't get a safety squeeze bunt down and then struck out on a 1-2 pitch for the second out. O'Neill quickly got ahead of Barr, but he didn't need to throw another pitch as his teammates executed the double-steal defense.
"That's an old Gene Depew play, the first-and-third steal," said Heather. "It's a very hard play to defend but it's something we practice a lot. The key is not letting the runner get a big jump off third, and Nic did a great job with that."
Adamo went 2-for-3 with a walk, in addition to his big defensive play. Keys, who received his Patriot League Player of the Year award before the game, reached base three times with a double and two walks. The Bison out-hit Army 8-6.
Lehman (5-3) threw 111 pitches of his own and allowed four runs on eight hits over seven innings. He struck out three and walked four.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: O'Neill, Tyler (5-5)
L: Justin Lehman (5-3)
Batting:
2B: Keys, Sean 1
HR: Corson, Jacob 1 ; Trommer, Michael 1
RBI: Corson, Jacob 1 ; Trommer, Michael 1 ; Voytovich, Grant 1
SH: Morabito, Chris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Keys, Sean 2 ; Corson, Jacob 1 ; Trommer, Michael 1
Batting:
2B: Ethan Ellis 2
3B: Chris Barr 1 ; Derek Berg 1
RBI: Ethan Ellis 1 ; Addison Ainsworth 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Braden Golinski 1 ; Coleson Titus 1 ; Ethan Ellis 1
CS: Addison Ainsworth 1
HBP: Derek Berg 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
IF/RHP
/ Baseball
OF
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