Saturday, February 18
Louisville, Ky.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
0-2
2
at
11
Louisville
2-0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Bucknell
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
2
6
0
Louisville
1
0
4
3
0
0
2
1
X
11
10
2
Photo by: Phil Inglis
No. 5 Louisville Takes Game 2 of Series, 11-2
2/18/2023 5:48:00 PM | Baseball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bucknell baseball team stacked up plenty of baserunners in Game 2 of its three-game series at No. 5 Louisville, but the Bison could not find enough clutch hits to stay close with the ACC favorites and fell 11-2 to the Cardinals on Saturday at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Bucknell collected six hits and drew 10 walks in the nearly four-hour affair. Jacob Corson picked up two hits and scored a run on a Billy Kender RBI single. Jacob Terwilliger knocked in Bucknell's first run of the day with a sacrifice fly that plated Kyle Lyons.
Senior lefthander Chris DiFiore made his long-awaited return to the mound for the Bison. DiFiore, the 2022 Patriot League Preseason Pitcher of the Year, worked only two innings in last year's opener before leaving with a season-ending injury. After the long layoff, DiFiore struggled a bit with his command in this one, walking four while allowing two base hits in two innings.
Louisville took a 1-0 lead on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first, but DiFiore escaped further trouble by inducing a 6-4-3 double play. DiFiore picked Gavin Kilen off first base to end a scoreless second, but Louisville rallied in the third.
After a single, a hit batsman, and a walk loaded the bases, Ryan McCoy slapped a single through the right side to score two. Grant Voytovich's perfect throw to the plate from right field initially resulted in an out at the plate, but it was overturned after a lengthy replay review. That ended DiFiore's day, and both of his inherited runners would later score in the inning as the Cardinals took a 5-1 lead.
Bucknell got on the board in the fourth, with the run set up by walks from Lyons and Jake Wortman around a Mason Kelly single. That chased Louisville starter Riley Phillips, and Terwilliger greeted Will Koger with a fly ball to right that was plenty deep enough to score the run.
The Cardinals scored three more in the bottom of the fourth to break it open. Isaac Humphrey delivered an RBI single, and Jack Payton followed with a two-run homer.
Connor Vucovich worked two scoreless, hitless innings in middle relief, but he was charged with two runs in the seventh despite not allowing a hit. Freshman Hadley Maxwell made his collegiate debut and struck out the first batter he faced to end the inning. Louisville tacked on an unearned run in the eighth to close out the scoring.
Senior Chris Klein notched his first hit as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, and the Bison loaded the bases again in the ninth but could not score. Bucknell left 14 runners on base in the game. Christian Knapczyk and Eddie King Jr. had two hits apiece for the Cardinals, who had 10 hits in the game but only two for extra bases.
Tyler O'Neill takes the mound for Bucknell in the series finale on Sunday. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m., with coverage on ACC Network Extra.
Bucknell collected six hits and drew 10 walks in the nearly four-hour affair. Jacob Corson picked up two hits and scored a run on a Billy Kender RBI single. Jacob Terwilliger knocked in Bucknell's first run of the day with a sacrifice fly that plated Kyle Lyons.
Senior lefthander Chris DiFiore made his long-awaited return to the mound for the Bison. DiFiore, the 2022 Patriot League Preseason Pitcher of the Year, worked only two innings in last year's opener before leaving with a season-ending injury. After the long layoff, DiFiore struggled a bit with his command in this one, walking four while allowing two base hits in two innings.
Louisville took a 1-0 lead on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first, but DiFiore escaped further trouble by inducing a 6-4-3 double play. DiFiore picked Gavin Kilen off first base to end a scoreless second, but Louisville rallied in the third.
After a single, a hit batsman, and a walk loaded the bases, Ryan McCoy slapped a single through the right side to score two. Grant Voytovich's perfect throw to the plate from right field initially resulted in an out at the plate, but it was overturned after a lengthy replay review. That ended DiFiore's day, and both of his inherited runners would later score in the inning as the Cardinals took a 5-1 lead.
Bucknell got on the board in the fourth, with the run set up by walks from Lyons and Jake Wortman around a Mason Kelly single. That chased Louisville starter Riley Phillips, and Terwilliger greeted Will Koger with a fly ball to right that was plenty deep enough to score the run.
The Cardinals scored three more in the bottom of the fourth to break it open. Isaac Humphrey delivered an RBI single, and Jack Payton followed with a two-run homer.
Connor Vucovich worked two scoreless, hitless innings in middle relief, but he was charged with two runs in the seventh despite not allowing a hit. Freshman Hadley Maxwell made his collegiate debut and struck out the first batter he faced to end the inning. Louisville tacked on an unearned run in the eighth to close out the scoring.
Senior Chris Klein notched his first hit as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, and the Bison loaded the bases again in the ninth but could not score. Bucknell left 14 runners on base in the game. Christian Knapczyk and Eddie King Jr. had two hits apiece for the Cardinals, who had 10 hits in the game but only two for extra bases.
Tyler O'Neill takes the mound for Bucknell in the series finale on Sunday. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m., with coverage on ACC Network Extra.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Will Koger (1-0)
L: DiFiore, Chris (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Kender, Billy 1 ; Terwilliger, Jacob 1
SF: Terwilliger, Jacob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Corson, Jacob 1 ; Lyons, Kyle 1
PO: Uccello, Drew 1
Batting:
2B: Will Vierling 1
HR: Jack Payton 1
RBI: Isaac Humphrey 1 ; Jack Payton 2 ; Ryan McCoy 2 ; Eddie King Jr. 2 ; JT Benson 1 ; Noah Smith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Christian Knapczyk 3 ; Isaac Humphrey 2 ; Jack Payton 2 ; Ryan McCoy 1 ; Logan Beard 1 ; Brandon Anderson 1 ; JT Benson 1
SB: Christian Knapczyk 2
CS: Eddie King Jr. 1
HBP: Christian Knapczyk 1 ; Isaac Humphrey 1 ; Jack Payton 1 ; Matt Klein 1
PO: Gavin Kilen 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
ss/lf
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
IF/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballBucknell Men's Basketball Post Game: December 6 vs. UMBC
Saturday, December 06
In The Herd: Bison Opener Preview And Madison Fowler and Jeffrey Cianfrocca Features
Friday, December 05
Bucknell Women's Basketball Post Game: December 1st vs. Albany
Tuesday, December 02
Bucknell Women's Basketball Post Game: November 25 vs. Le Moyne
Tuesday, November 25