The Orange and Blue defeated Holy Cross in a double-header on April 14, moving up to third place in the Patriot League standings. Behind impressive performances from Connor Van Hoose ’18 and Jeff Gottesman ’19 on the mound, the Bison were able to win with scores of 6-0 and 2-1.

In game one, Van Hoose made history as he became the second pitcher in school history to record 200 career strikeouts. He notched 12 total strikeouts for the game, which proved to be too much for the Crusaders to deal with at the plate as they only recorded two hits in the contest.

The Bison offense backed Van Hoose’s pitching dominance. They totaled ten hits and eight walks, led by Luke Hartman ’20 producing two RBI’s and two hits for the Orange and Blue. They sat comfortably throughout the game, building a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning and cruising to the 6-0 shutout victory.

Game two proved to be a closer contest. It was a low-scoring pitcher’s duel, with Gottesman recording 11 strikeouts and letting up just two hits in his eight innings on the mound. However, Holy Cross’s pitcher was also giving the Bison trouble offensively. The teams entered the ninth inning knotted at 1-1.

In the ninth inning, however, the Orange and Blue took advantage when Holy Cross pulled in bullpen pitcher Danny Barlok in relief of McGowan. Pinch-runner PJ Strahm ’19 scored on Keifer Rawlings’ ’18 sacrifice pop-fly to center field that put the Bison in the lead. Gottesman then managed to close his third complete game of the season, with two final strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth. Hartman had a solid day batting for the Bison in both games, as he produced three hits and three walks on eight appearances.

Game three was canceled due to weather because of sub-freezing temperatures and a possibility of sub-freezing rain.

Van Hoose and Gottesman have shown throughout the season just how crucial they are to the Bison’s success.

“Van Hoose and I have gone 6-0 over the past three weekends,” Gottesman said.  “Keeping this momentum going is very important as we approach the postseason. If we keep pitching well, we’ll be a tough team to beat come playoff time.”

On April 18, the Bison dropped a League game to second place Navy, 6-4. The offense was carried by Rawlings, who tallied a home run and three RBIs in the contest. However, the Midshipmen notched the final three runs of the game for the comeback victory. The Bison moved to 12-22 overall and 9-8 in League play.

The Orange and Blue will look to continue their impressive League play run with a home series against Lehigh on April 21-22.