March 31, 2001
LEWISBURG, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Bucknell's Kevin McDowell tossed six scoreless innings of two-hit baseball in game one, and right-hander Chris Lackett scattered five hits and allowed just one earned run in game two to lead Bucknell to a doubleheader (2-0, 6-2) sweep over Lafayette in Patriot League action on Saturday afternoon.
In the opener, McDowell struck out seven and walked three en route to his second win of the season. Bucknell scored all the runs it would need in its half of the first. Ian Joseph and Brad Gething opened the frame with back-to-back singles, and advanced to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Kevin Eiben. A passed ball scored Joseph, and then a groundout to second base by John DiBonaventura plated Gething.
Kevin Swords (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis) went the distance on the hill for the Leopards and took the tough-luck loss. He allowed just one earned run on six hits and struck out two, but dropped to 1-4 on the season. His battery mate, Jon Kline (Hingham, Mass./Thayer Academy), threw out three Bison runners attempting to steal.
Joseph went 2-for-3 at the plate to Bucknell, while Tye Gonser (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles) Kline and Jason Moll (Montville, N.J./Newark Academy) collected the hits for Lafayette.
In the nightcap, the Leopards jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second when Adam Rosenberg (Ocean Grove, N.J./Neptune) singled home a pair of runs with two outs. After Matt Tambellini (Millville, N.J./Sacred Heart) was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a groundout, Eric Vacca (Philadelphia, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) hit a ball back to Lackett who turned and cut down Tambellini at third. After a single by Brian Heyesey and a passed ball put runners on second and third, Rosenberg followed with his clutch hit.
Lafayette starter Joe Saporetti (Woodbury Heights, N.J./Gateway Regional) held the Bison in check until they plated a run in the fourth. DiBonaventura led off the frame with a double and moved to third on a single by senior Mike Ritz. Pat Cann then put the Bison on the board with a sacrifice fly to right.
The Bison took advantage of a Leopard error to take the lead for good with a three-spot in the fifth. Larry Scheetz led off with a single and moved to second on a single by Joseph. After Eric Fishman popped out to the catcher on a sacrifice attempt, Russ Lindberg reached when his grounder bounced off the third baseman and back towards center field. Scheetz scored on the play and Joseph and Lindberg wound up on second and third. DiBonaventura was called out on strikes for the second out of the inning, but a wild pitch scored Joseph and moved Lindberg to third. A single by Ritz scored Lindberg with the third run of the inning and Bucknell led 4-2.
Bucknell scored two more runs in the sixth, again taking advantage of Lafayette errors. Gething pinch hit and reached on an error by the shortstop. After Scheetz was called out for batter's interference on an attempted steal by Gething, Joseph singled. The Leopards recorded the second out on a fly ball by Fishman, and Saporetti should have been out of the inning when he struck out Lindberg. However, the catcher dropped the ball and then threw it past first base and into right field. Both Gething and Joseph, who raced all the way around from first, scored on the play.
Lackett retired the final 10 batters he faced in a row to improve his record to 4-1 on the year. He recorded his second complete game of the season.
Joseph once again led the offense for Bucknell with a 3-for-3 performance, while Ritz had two hits and an RBI. Rosenberg went 2-for-2 for Lafayette and drove in both Leopard runs.
With the wins the Bison improve to 12-9 overall and 2-0 in the conference, while Lafayette drops to 4-13, 0-2.
Bucknell and Lafayette will be back in action tomorrow, April 1, with a doubleheader beginning at noon.
