Box Score (Game 1) | Box Score (Game 2)

EASTON, Pa. - A big-time performance from senior left fielder Andrew Landolfi ensured that Lafayette would earn a split of today's weekend-opening doubleheader with Bucknell.

Landolfi had a season-high three hits at the plate to go along with a pair of outfield assists in a 6-5 win for the Leopards in Game 2 on Saturday afternoon. The last of those two assists ended the game in the ninth inning, as he cut down Alex O'Neill trying to score the game-tying run on a shallow fly ball to left.

Fellow senior Michael Coniglio also had a key role in the victory. He was a perfect 3-for-3 at the top of the order, and the second of his two stolen bases in the contest was a straight steal of home which opened up Lafayette's advantage to 6-3 with two outs in the seventh.

The Leopards took that lead into the ninth, but Bucknell scored twice and maintained a bases loaded situation with nobody out. David Giusti induced an infield pop-up for the first out, and Ari Kaufman came on to register the game-ending fly ball to Landolfi.

The Game 2 win evened up the day after the Bison took the opener by a 4-1 final. Lafayette led 1-0 heading into the sixth inning of the seven-inning contest, but Bucknell rallied off starter David Bednar with three runs in that frame despite having only one hit leave the infield.

The Leopards (11-21, 5-5 PL) remain one game back of the Bison (15-22, 6-4 PL) in the Patriot League standings heading into tomorrow's doubleheader, which will begin at 12:15 p.m. after Lafayette honors its 10 seniors in a pregame ceremony prior to Game 1.

GAME 1

Bednar was stellar through the first five innings, striking out nine batters and giving up only two hits during that stretch. After allowing a leadoff single to Brett Smith to begin the contest, the junior right-hander set each of the next three Bison down on strikes, fanning the last two after Smith had stolen second to advance into scoring position.

Bednar added five more strikeouts over the next three frames, including back-to-back Ks in the fourth inning to help him work around a leadoff double to cleanup hitter Sam Clark.

Lafayette had scoring chances in each of the first three innings. Dan Leckie hit a one-out double in the first and Luke Robinson legged out a one-out triple in the second, but both were stranded at their respective bases. Coniglio made it into scoring position in the third, extending his hitting streak to eight games with a one-out single to left and making it to second on a pickoff attempt error before starter Andrew Andreychik retired the next two batters.

Andreychik found himself in trouble again in the fourth, and this time the Leopards were able to capitalize. Alex Nickles singled up the middle with one out, and he advanced to second on a two-out base knock by AJ Kloehn. That brought up Tyler Hudson, who hit a fly ball to left that fell in for a single after outfielder Danny Rafferty initially broke back on the ball, scoring Nickles and giving Lafayette a 1-0 lead.

A rough sequence in the top of the sixth swung the contest in Bucknell's favor. Following a leadoff single up the middle, the Bison reached on back-to-back bunt attempts, the second of which scored a pair after an errant throw to first made it into the outfield. Bucknell added a third run on a sacrifice fly later on, and tacked on an insurance marker in the seventh.

Bednar allowed four runs on just six hits over 6 1/3 innings, and he moved into fourth place in Lafayette program history in strikeouts with his nine-K performance. He is up to 171 strikeouts for his career.

GAME 2

The Leopards quickly jumped ahead in the night cap. Coniglio beat out an infield single in the bottom of the first, advanced to third on another Bucknell pickoff attempt error, and scored on an RBI groundout by Leckie.

The Maroon and White added two more in their next trip to the plate. Spencer Rouse scored Kloehn on a safety squeeze, and Landolfi brought home the third run of the game on a ground-rule double down the right field line. The Bison prevented another run from scoring when Landolfi was gunned down at the plate by Smith trying to score on Coniglio's second single of the game.

The senior canceled out that outfield assist with one of his own in the top of the third, though Bucknell still managed to score three times in the frame to level up the score.

Lafayette moved back in front in the fourth. Rouse reached on a hit-by-pitch, and he scored after back-to-back singles from Landolfi and Coniglio. The final two runs for the home side came in the seventh. Up with the bases loaded, Luke Robinson became the fourth Leopard hit by a pitch in the game to make it 5-3, and Coniglio stole home in the following batting sequence.

Landolfi's heroics in the ninth made a winner out of Mitch Leeds, who allowed three runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings. Leeds struck out four while registering his second quality start in three conference games this season. Kaufman, meanwhile, recorded his second save of 2016.

Coniglio and Landolfi accounted for six of Lafayette's eight hits in the contest.