Bison Baseball took on Army at home, taking the series 2-1. The Bison fell in the first game but claimed an 8-3 victory on Senior Day and a 10-6 victory to finish the series.
In game one, the Bison fell 4-10 in a 10-inning matchup. Chris Morabito ʼ27 hit his third home run of the season to tie the game 1-1 in the fourth inning. Tyler Dunn ʼ25 increased his on-base streak to 33 games, walking 36 times this season to tie for third all-time for Bucknell’s single-season record. Michael Trommer ʼ26 and Morabito each reached base twice, each with a hit and a walk.
Tyler O’Neill ʼ25 pitched 9.2 innings on the mound, but the Black Knights scored three runs in the 10th inning to win 4-1. In the 10th inning, a one-out single and two-out single brought the winning run in scoring position. A pitch clock violation induced a walk to load the bases, and the winning run came home via a wild pitch. Jonathan Adelmann ʼ27 came in for relief and brought both runs home. O’Neill finished with five hits, four earned runs and seven strikeouts.
The Bison celebrated their seniors in game two with an 8-3 Senior Day victory. Ben Magovern ʼ25 started on the mound for the Bison, and he pitched his best game of the season, going 6.2 innings, striking out three batters and forcing 10 ground-outs. In the lead-off spot, Brady Karp ʼ25 had two hits and two RBIs. Ryan Facinelli ʼ26, Billy Fluharty ʼ27 and John Calabrese ʼ28 all had two hits, adding to the Bison’s 13 total hits with each batter in the lineup contributing.
Karp started the scoring for the Orange and Blue with a two-run single, and Dunn hit a double down the left field line to score another run. Facinelli brought Dunn home with a single to right. In the fight inning, Fluharty extended the lead to 5-0 by tagging two bases off a deep fly ball from Luke Nascimento ʼ27. Army added their first run in the fifth, but the Bison responded in the bottom with two runs to bring the score to 7-1. The Orange and Blue scored off an RBI triple from Morabito and an RBI single from Fluharty.
The Black Knights added two runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Hadley Maxwell ʼ26 came in to relieve Magovern with first and third occupied, let up a walk to bring the tying run to the plate and induced a ground ball to get out of the inning. The Orange and Blue tallied another run in the eighth. Maxwell retired the final six batters of the game, only surrendering one walk in 2.1 no-hit innings. Billy Kender ʼ25 and Matt Alexander ʼ25 each contributed a hit and run scored. In his first game of the season, Alexander had six assists, made a diving play in the eighth inning and ended the game off a tough running throw in the ninth. The Bison recognized seniors Alexander, Dunn, Karp, Kender, Magovern, Nick Mulvey, O’Neill and Brady Swenson.
The Bison finished the series strong with a 10-6 win at the newly dedicated Depew Field at Marren Park, inching closer to the Patriot League Playoff possibility (16-26, 8-14 PL). Before the game, Bucknell hosted the Depew and Marren families to rededicate the stadium.
At the start of the fourth inning, the Orange and Blue trailed 3-0, but Calabrese drew a walk to score the Bison’s first run. A two-run single by Nascimento tied the game 3-3. Alexander hit a single to score Calabrese and give the Bison the lead. A walk from Karp reloaded the bases. Kender’s three-run triple brought in the Bison’s winning runs, extending the lead to 7-1. Dunn chipped in another run with a hard-hit double down the right field line.
Mulvey pitched a career-high five innings; Army scored three runs in the first three innings, two of which were unearned. Mulvey shut down the Black Knights in the fourth and fifth innings with help from Nascimento’s throw picking off the lead runner. Army scored three runs in the sixth inning, but the Bison responded with two insurance runs in the seventh inning to extend their lead to 10-6. Calabrese and Fluharty occupied first and third, and Calabrese stole a base, and both runs scored.
Adelmann went in for AJ Murray ʼ28 in the seventh, going 2.1 innings in relief with five strikeouts. Although the Black Knights brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, the Bison worked their way out of the inning to secure the series win. Fluharty went 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored. Kender and Dunn each had two hits; Kender had three RBIs. The Bison were able to overcome, making five errors with double plays and offensive momentum.
The Orange and Blue travel to face Lafayette on Saturday, May 3, wrapping up the regular season with a three-game series.
