April 30, 2006
Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)
WORCESTER, Mass. - Lafayette used a two-hit shutout from junior lefthander Ted Gjeldum to claim a 1-0 victory over Holy Cross and secure a spot in the three-team Patriot League Tournament field. The Leopards split a doubleheader on Sunday at Fitton Field, losing the second game 6-5 in 10 innings, while capturing the series 3-1.
Lafayette will be the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament which will be held at Lehigh on May 13-14. Lafayette will play No. 2 seed Bucknell in a nine-inning game to earn the right to face Lehigh in a three-game series.
The Leopards (21-23, 11-9) scored all of the offense Gjeldum would need in the third inning of Sunday's opener. No. 9 hitter Tyler Zeronda drew a one-out walk. Ian Law moved the inning along with a single to right center that put Zeronda on third base with one out. The next batter, Ryan Roberts, laid down a bunt and Zeronda scored on the play.
Gjeldum faced 13 batters over the final four innings. In the bottom of the seventh of the seven-inning game, Holy Cross put a runner on third with two outs, but Gjeldum struck out Brian Abraham to end the game.
Gjeldum (4-4) struck out four and walked one while surrendering just two hits and no runs in the complete game. Patrick Rutherford (1-1) took loss, surrendering one run on six hits in seven innings.
In the nightcap, Holy Cross (16-26-1, 5-15) tied the game with a run in the bottom of the ninth and won it the bottom of the 10th for a 6-5 decision.
Jeff Butler handed Lafayette a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Law led off the game, was sacrificed to second and later stole third before Butler's double allowed him to trot home.
Holy Cross scored an unearned run in the second to tie the game and used an Andrew Sweeney solo home run in the third to take a 2-1 lead.
When the game moved to fifth inning, the Lafayette bats came alive. With Dave Drechsel (double) and Zeronda aboard, Law smashed a ball over the leftfield wall to award Lafayette a 4-2 lead, his fifth home run of the season. The Leopards padded that lead to 5-2 when Joe Ezekiel doubled home a run with two outs in the inning.
Holy Cross chipped away at the Lafayette margin, scoring single runs in the sixth and eighth innings to inch within one run, 5-4. The Leopards held the one-run advantage as the game went to the bottom of the ninth. Tom Potvin led off the inning with a double and pinch hitter Jake Gorman singled off reliever Jason Morytko to leave runners on first and third with no outs. John Fugett came in following Gorman's single. Fugett got a doubleplay ball, but Potvin scored to tie the game, 5-5.
In the top of the 10th, Lafayette managed to put a runner on second with one out, but could not get him home. In the bottom of the inning, Holy Cross started things with an infield single. Fugett balked pinch runner Steve Soldi to second and hit the next batter to prompt a pitching change. Steve Roberts came in and Holy Cross put two runners in scoring position with a sac bunt. Roberts intentionally walked Potvin to load the bases and set up the doubleplay, but Gorman lifted a fly ball deep to center to score a run and end the game.
Fugett (0-5) was charged with the loss, after giving up one run on two hits in one complete inning of work. Kevin Reese, who started the game for the Leopards, gave up three runs on five hits with four strikeouts in a no-decision. For Holy Cross, Dan Seip (5-2) earned the win with 4.1 innings of one-hit baseball.
Lafayette returns to action on Tuesday, when the Leopards host Temple at 3:30 p.m.
