April 28, 2013

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Sophomore left-hander Toby Schwartz pitched the first complete-game shutout of his career and Lafayette salvaged a split of its final Patriot League series of the season with a 9-0 win over Bucknell on Sunday afternoon at Depew Field. The Bison took game one by a final of 14-7.

The Leopards (9-37, 6-14 Patriot) pounded out 14 hits and four players recorded multi-hit games, including three each by second baseman Kevin Casey and third baseman Scott Kelleher. Schwartz held the Bison to just five hits and walked three while fanning three others.

Lafayette broke the ice in the top of the third inning when shortstop Jackson Kramer began the inning with a single to left field and stole second before Andrew Santomauro walked to put runners at first and second. Casey came to the plate and roped a triple to the gap in right-center field, scoring both baserunners to give the Leopards a 2-0 lead. A single by Andrew Ruck extended the lead to 3-0 as Casey came in from third.

With Schwartz motoring through the Bucknell (16-31, 10-10 Patriot) batting order, the offense knocked Bucknell starting pitcher Andrew Andreychik from the game after five innings when the Leopards added four more runs, pushing the advantage to 7-0. All four runs came with two outs in the inning and the rally began with Casey's infield single. Ruck followed with a base hit to right prior to Andreychik issuing a free pass to Zach Gross to pack the bags. Successive extra base hits by Parker Hills, a bases-clearing double, and Kelleher's RBI triple broke the game open for Lafayette.

Kelleher came a single shy of hitting for the cycle and launched a home run in the seventh inning before hitting a double in the ninth to help Lafayette run the final score to 9-0. The senior finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and the homer was his third of the season. Matt Lawrence also registered two hits and an RBI in the win.

Lafayette returns to the diamond at Kamine Stadium on Wednesday when it hosts Rider. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.