Baseball Opens Nine-Game Homestand Against Lehigh and Lafayette **SCHEDULE UPDATED**

*Saturday's doubleheader against Lehigh has been moved to Monday, April 7 due to the forecast inclement weather*

Lafayette (6-23, 3-5 PL) at Bucknell (11-16, 3-5 PL)
When: Sunday, April 6, 12 p.m. (DH)
Where: Depew Field
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats

Lehigh (14-13, 3-5 PL) at Bucknell (11-16, 3-5 PL)
When: Monday, April 7, 12 p.m. (DH)
Where: Depew Field
Live Stats

Bucknell at a Glance

After 15 consecutive games on the road, the Bison are back at Depew Field for a nine-game homestand. Lafayette and Lehigh will make the trip down to Lewisburg for doubleheaders on Sunday and Monday, both starting at 12 p.m. The Lehigh series was originally scheduled for Saturday but has been pushed back to Monday due to the forecast of rain.
Bucknell enters the weekend with an 11-16 overall record after falling to Penn State 14-3 in seven innings on Tuesday at Medlar Field.
This past weekend, the Orange and Blue traveled to Holy Cross and Army for doubleheaders. The Bison swept Holy Cross on Friday to snap a 12-game road losing streak to the Crusaders, then were swept on Saturday by Army.
Bucknell is currently tied for fourth with Lehigh and Lafayette with a 3-5 record in the Patriot League. Navy leads the league with a 7-4 record, taking down Army in four of its five games between the two teams. Holy Cross moved to second with a 5-3 record after a sweep over Navy on Sunday, and Army sits in third with a 6-5 record.
The Bison stole Game 1 from the Crusaders, pulling off a seventh-inning comeback to win 6-5. The Bison trailed 5-1 and had just two hits heading into the final inning. The Bison rallied off five consecutive hits to start the inning, including RBI knocks from senior Brady Karp, sophomore Billy Fluharty, and senior Tyler Dunn to cut the deficit to 5-4. With Fluharty at third, senior Billy Kender hit a slow grounder to third, and Fluharty beat the throw at the plate to even the score 5-5. The Crusaders got the second out, but a clutch piece of hitting by junior Ryan Facinelli scored Kender on a big swing into the right-centerfield gap to put the Bison in front.
The momentum carried right into Game 2 as the Bison exploded for 20 runs on 11 hits. Bucknell drew a program-record 20 walks and tied its team record with seven hit batters. The Bison had crooked frames in five of the nine innings, including five in both the eighth and ninth. Seven different Bison had multiple RBIs. Bucknell's previous record was 14 walks, most recently set against Susquehanna in 2007. The last time seven Bison were hit with a pitch seven times was in 2013 against Penn State.
The Bison teed off in Game 1 against Army as Karp and junior Michael Trommer each blasted a three-run homer in the first inning as BU took a 7-0 lead. The lead was undone by the second inning as Army rallied for two in the first and six in the second to take an 8-7 lead. The Black Knights eventually pulled away to a 14-8 victory.
It was a back-and-forth Game 2, and Army held off Bucknell's comeback efforts to win 9-7. The Bison trailed 2-1, tying the game 2-2 in the fourth. Both teams traded a three-run frame to for a 5-5 game after the top of the fifth, but a four-run fifth for the Black Knights was enough to hold on for the win.
Freshman John Calabrese is red-hot, and on Monday he earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week and Bison of the Week honors. Calabrese went 7-for-12 at the plate with four RBIs and five walks across the four games. The right fielder reached base in 13 of his 19 plate appearances over the weekend, and is now riding a seven-game hit streak after going 1-for-3 at PSU. Calabrese made his debut with a pinch-hit single against FAU and has become a mainstay in the BU lineup.
In 15 games with 11 starts, Calabrese is slashing .450/.550/.577 — good for a 1.127 OPS. Calabrese is crushing right-handed pitchers with a .459 batting average and is 7-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Dunn has also stayed hot, now on a 20-game on-base streak after walking twice at PSU. The first baseman was on a 10-game hitting streak that came to an end on Tuesday.
Dunn had five hits, four RBIs and five walks over the four-game weekend. He has a .348 batting average with a 1.076 OPS. Over the 10-game hitting streak, he was batting .447 with six multi-hit games, 11 walks and 14 RBIs.
Dunn is climbing several career program records this season. The four-year starter ranks 13th in games played (160), 11th in games started (154), 12th in at-bats (569), 19th in hits (156), 15th in RBIs (104), 7th in walks (82), 16th in hit-by-pitches (20), 20th in doubles (30), and eighth in sacrifice flies (9).
Fluharty is third on the Bison with a .277 batting average. Fluharty had a hit in all four games last weekend and currently has a six-game hitting streak and a 12-game on-base streak after an RBI single against PSU. The center fielder drew three walks and was hit three times across the four games over the weekend. Fluharty led the Bison with eight runs scored against Holy Cross and Army.
Karp and Trommer each led BU with six RBIs at Holy Cross and Army, with both blasting a three-run homer in the first inning of Game 1 at Army. It was Karp's first of the season and Trommer's second. Trommer then went yard again with a solo shot in Game 2.
Trommer has a .262 batting average and leads the Bison with 25 RBIs after a 2-for-3 day against the Nittany Lions. Karp has a .489 on-base percentage in 13 games this year, drawing nine walks and getting plunked eight times. Karp currently has a 10-game on-base streak.
Facinelli is fourth on the team with a .266 batting average. He has a .426 slugging percentage and a .397 on-base percentage. Facinelli had the biggest hit of the weekend for the Bison, capping off Bucknell's comeback win in Game 1 with a two-out, RBI double to score Kender from first to give BU the 6-5 lead.
Sophomore Chris Morabito had a .600 on-base percentage over the weekend. The left fielder was 4-for-12 at the plate with seven walks. Morabito had five RBIs in Game 2 at Holy Cross, roping a two-run triple and a three-run triple.
Senior Billy Kender currently has a nine-game on-base streak. Kender had five hits and four RBIs four the Bison, including the game-tying RBI in Game 1 at Holy Cross. The second-baseman was 3-for-6 at the plate with two RBIs in Game 2 at Holy Cross. Kender drove in both of his runs on a single as part of a five-run eighth inning.
Junior Garrison Bullock had a good weekend for the Bison. Bullock was 3-for-6 at the plate in two games with three RBIs, four walks and a hit-by-pitch. He reached base in all six plate appearances in Game 2 at Holy Cross. The catcher was 2-for-2 with three RBIs, three runs scored, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
Tyler O'Neill has a 4.15 ERA after making his seventh start this season. Holy Cross tagged O'Neill for five runs in the first three innings. The senior allowed two home runs, which accounted for four of the five runs he allowed. O'Neill bounced back, throwing 3.2 scoreless innings after the third inning.
O'Neill's fourth strikeout in the sixth inning of Game 1 was his 195th career strikeout, moving up to third with Jack Recco '77 on Bucknell's all-time strikeouts list. The Friday starter for the Bison leads the team with 43.1 innings pitched and had 38 strikeouts. He has a 3.03 ERA in his last five starts.
Hadley Maxwell has a 3.44 ERA out of the bullpen. Maxwell was tagged for three earned runs in his outing in Game 2 at Army. The righty has been solid otherwise, with just seven earned runs allowed in 18.1 innings over 10 appearances.
Jonathan Adelmann threw 3.2 scoreless innings over the weekend. The righthander picked up his third save of the season in Game 1 at Holy Cross, stranding two runners to get the final out after O'Neill nearly went the distance. Adelmann then tossed 3.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts to finish out Game 2 at Army.
Adelmann has a 2.11 ERA in 21.1 innings out of the bullpen. In 11 appearances, opponents are hitting .218 against the sophomore. He has 28 strikeouts thus far with only eight walks and three hit-batters.
Through 27 games, the Bison have a .249 team batting average and an 8.99 team ERA. Opponents are batting .308 and have a 5.92 ERA against BU.
The Bison are 2-2 against ACC foes. Bucknell won its single game against Pitt, and took Game 2 from Virginia Tech in its opening series.
Against Pitt, seven Bison pitchers combined for a four-hit, 17-strikeout effort. The 17 strikeouts were four shy of the team record of 21, set in 1956 against Franklin & Marshall (all by Don Richards) and in 1989 against Wilkes.
Head coach Scott Heather is in his 13th season at the helm, passing Bill Lane (1946-57) as the third-longest tenured coach in program history. Heather's 234 career wins are second-most in team history, trailing only Hall-of-Famer Gene Depew (591).

Lehigh at a Glance/Series History

Lehigh enters the weekend with a 14-13 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a record-setting day on Tuesday in which Lehigh demolished Delaware State 36-1. The 36 runs scored were the most in program history since 1970.
The Mountain Hawks are 3-5 in the Patriot League after an 0-3 start. Lehigh most recently split a two-game series against Army and split a four-game series with Lafayette.
Lehigh is averaging just under seven runs per game, and comes to Depew field with a .253 team batting average. Lehigh has 178 strikeouts as a team, the lowest of any Patriot League school this year. Aidan Quinn leads the Mountain Hawks, slashing .355/.516/431 this season. Quinn has 12 extra-base hits and a league-leading 26 RBIs.
Owen Walewander is hitting .286/.455/.398. Walewander is third on the team with 18 RBIs and seven doubles. Jake Whitlinger leads the Patriot League with five home runs and is second on the team with 19 RBIs. Whitlinger is slashing .275/.459/.365. Whitlinger is dangerous on base, stealing 12 bases with a league-high 34 runs scored.
Liam O'Hearen leads the Patriot League with a 2.57 ERA over 28.0 innings. O'Hearen started out of the bullpen, but has made three consecutive starts where he has allowed just three runs in 19.0 innings.
O'Hearen was named PL Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 24 after tossing a complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts against the PL defending champions, Army.
Noah Gyauch-Quirk is second on the team with a 3.55 ERA in six appearances. In 12.2 innings, he has 17 strikeouts compared to nine walks. Cole Kochanowicz has a 4.05 ERA in six appearances. Kochanowicz has 17 strikeouts compared to six walks in 13.1 innings.
Bucknell leads the all-time series 116-103. In the last 10 games dating back to 2023, the Bison are 6-4 against the Mountain Hawks. Last season, Lehigh took the season series with a 3-2 mark over the Bison.

Lafayette at a Glance/Series History

Lafayette is 6-23 on the season with a 3-5 record in Patriot League play. The Leopards lost their first 10 games of the season before picking up a win over UMass Lowell. Their second win came in a 5-3 upset over Penn State, who the Bison just fell to 14-3.
The Leopards dropped their first three Patriot League games before going 3-2 over their last five. Lafayette opened up league play with a doubleheader at Army before splitting a two-game series with Holy Cross. They then split their most recent series with Lehigh in four games.
Lafayette is batting .272 as a team this season, averaging just over five runs per game. The pitching staff has an 8.45 ERA and opponents are batting .328.
The top three batters in the Leopards' lineup rival any team in the Patriot League. Easton Brenner is slashing .344/.522/.483 and ranks second in the PL with a 1.005 OPS. Brenner has three home runs, 31 hits and 22 RBIs. He has drawn 17 walks and gotten plunked 10 times compared to 19 strikeouts.
Ethan Swidler is batting .324/.491/.455 with a team-high 35 hits. He is second on the team with 18 RBIs, and leads the team with nine doubles and 22 walks. Alex Barrist is batting .313/.458/.380 with 15 RBIs. Matt Colella and Michael Zarrillo also come into the weekend with 30-plus hits and 15-plus RBIs.
Tristan Helmick leads the Lafayette starting pitchers with a 4.85 ERA in 29.2 innings over seven appearances. Opponents are hitting .272 and have struck out 30 times compared to 12 walks.
Among the starters, Joe Skapinetz has a 6.11 ERA over 35.1 innings, and Trace Florio has a 6.23 ERA over 34.2 innings.
Mike Romano leads the Leopards out of the bullpen with a 2.76 ERA in 11 appearances with two saves. In 16.1 innings, he has 15 strikeouts to eight walks.
Lafayette leads the all-time series with Bucknell 124-89-1, dating back to 1895. Lafayette won the first eight games played before the Bison got its first win in 1906.
The Bison have gotten the better of the Leopards over the last two seasons with an 8-2 mark over the last 10 games. Last season, Bucknell took all five games to sweep the season series with Lafayette.

Looking Ahead

After weekend play with Lehigh and Lafayette, Cornell comes to town on Tuesday, April 8 for a 3:30 p.m. contest at Depew Field.
The Bison are back in action against the Holy Cross for a three-game series the following weekend at Depew Field. The Bison previously swept Holy Cross on the road, winning 6-5 and 20-8 in the two games.

Baseball Opens Nine-Game Homestand Against Lehigh and Lafayette SCHEDULE UPDATED

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Players Mentioned

Jonathan Adelmann

Garrison Bullock

John Calabrese

Tyler Dunn

Ryan Facinelli

Billy Fluharty

Brady Karp

Billy Kender

Hadley Maxwell

Chris Morabito

Tyler O'Neill

Michael Trommer