March 15, 2008

Box Score

BRADENTON, Fla. - Eastern Illinois broke open a one-run game with two runs in the bottom of the third and five more in the fifth en route to a 13-4 defeat of Bucknell on Saturday in the Bison's final game of their weeklong Spring Break trip to Florida. Bucknell (5-7-2) won its first two games in Florida but has since dropped five straight.

Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI for the Bison, who managed eight hits in the game. Neil Wright, Zach Skidmore and Sean Estand had three hits apiece, accounting for nine of Eastern Illinois' 16 hits.

Bucknell starter Mathew Wilson (Toronto, Ontario/Northern S.S.), who was making his first appearance in Florida after battling the flu all week, was touched for 10 runs (eight earned) on 11 hits in four and a third innings. Wilson struck out four and walked just one. Panthers (5-9) starter Tirstan Facer (1-0) earned the win by pitching seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits.

Leading 4-3 in the third, Estand rapped a two-run single to give EIU some breathing room, then the Panthers blew it open with five runs on five hits in the fifth. Wright capped the rally with a two-run single to left off reliever Andy Campbell (Mill Valley, Calif./Marin Catholic).

The Bison got off to a great start as Allen and Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) opened the game with back-to-back doubles, but an inning-ending double play prevented any further damage. In the third, Mark Angelo (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Chris Pieper (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber) had an RBI single to make it a 4-3 game.

Bucknell's final run of the day came in the seventh when Andrew Loucks (Mississauga, Ontario/Appleby College) doubled and Allen delivered him with a single.

The Bison will try to stop their losing string at Depew Field on Tuesday when they play host to Niagara at 3:30 p.m.