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EASTON, Pa. - For a second-consecutive afternoon, Lafayette overcame a difficult defeat to salvage a doubleheader split with Bucknell.

The Leopards lost a 3-0 lead in the final inning of Game 1, ultimately falling 5-3 to the Bison, but homers from Campbell Lipe and John Selsor, along with a three-run double from Michael Coniglio, led to a 6-4 triumph in the night cap.

Trevor Houck earned his first win of 2016 in Game 2, surrendering three runs on five hits over seven innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. John Cain, meanwhile, put the Maroon and White in position to win the opener with 5 1/3 scoreless innings of work.

This weekend's split leaves Lafayette (12-22, 6-6 PL) in fourth place in the Patriot League standings, one game back of Bucknell (16-23, 7-5 PL) and Holy Cross for second place and one game ahead of Army West Point for fifth place.

GAME 1

Lafayette appeared set to take a two games to one lead in the series, taking a 3-0 advantage into the seventh and final inning. The only run through the first six innings was an unearned tally in the bottom of the third. Andrew Landolfi drew a leadoff walk in that frame, and after being sacrificed to second he made it 90 feet away when Dan Leckie reached on an error. Landolfi then crossed the plate when Bucknell botched a run down after Leckie was picked off first.

Cain delivered a second quality start in three Patriot League outings to help the Maroon and White maintain that edge into the later innings. He allowed four hits and three walks while striking out two.

Cain left after hitting Spencer Stokes with one out in the sixth. The Bison would eventually get runners on second and third with still only one man down, but David Giusti registered a strikeout and groundout to escape the jam unscathed.

Luke Robinson provided two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame. Robinson, who homered in Lafayette's 7-5 win over Navy on Monday, added another two-run shot with two outs in this afternoon's opener. Lipe had extended the inning with a walk on a full count, and Robinson blasted a 1-0 offering over the wall in left.

Two singles and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Bucknell with no one out in the seventh. Ari Kaufman came on to retire Danny Rafferty on a shallow fly to left, and he induced a pop-up near the pitcher's mound which appeared to fit the definition for the infield fly rule. The umpires did not see it that way, however, and the ball fell between three infielders to score a run and keep the bases loaded. Sam Clark then delivered a go-ahead three-run double on a 2-0 count to complete the Bison rally.

Connor Van Hoose picked up his first save of the year in the bottom of the seventh, working around a one-out error to secure the victory for the visitors.

GAME 2

The Leopards quickly put that frustrating ending behind them, as Lipe and Selsor's homers each came with two outs in the first inning. The inning nearly ended when Lipe hit a groundout to the shortstop, but a balk call on Bucknell starter Jack Grabek canceled out the play and moved Steven Cohen over to second base.

Lipe took advantage, sending a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left for his second long ball of 2016. Selsor then hit the next pitch to nearly the same spot for his second homer of the campaign.

Houck retired 9-of-10 batters in three scoreless innings to begin his day. The Bison managed a pair of runs with two outs in the fourth, but the Leopards topped that total with three of their own in the bottom half. AJ Kloehn began the rally with a single up the middle. Jackson Kramer and Spencer Rouse then walked, and all three scored when Coniglio found the gap in right center.

That was it for the Lafayette offense in Game 2, but Houck and Connor McMahon combined to finish out the game on the mound. McMahon entered with a 6-3 lead in the eighth, and after Bucknell pulled one run closer on a two-out RBI single by Stokes, the senior right-hander ended the threat by forcing Clark to ground out to second.

McMahon then pitched a perfect 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his second save of the year and 10th overall in his collegiate career.

Notes:

Selsor had three hits on the afternoon, all of which went for extra bases. In addition to his Game 2 homer, he added a pair of doubles in the opener.

Coniglio's perfect 22-for-22 run in stolen base attempts this season ended in the first inning of Game 2 when he was thrown out for the first time.

Lafayette's four starters this weekend, David Bednar, Mitch Leeds, Cain and Houck, combined to pitch to a 2.52 earned-run average over 25 innings of work.

This afternoon was Senior Day, with Tyler Hudson, Landolfi, Coniglio, Kramer, Kaufman, Alex Nickles, McMahon, Lipe, Ryan Callanan and Leeds all recognized prior to the start of Game 1.