April 1, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - With a 7-1 record over its last eight games, the Bucknell baseball team will look to keep its momentum going as the squad will travel to Penn State this Wednesday, Apr. 2, for an evening contest against the Nittany Lions that is set to begin at 6:35 p.m. on Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Bison are currently 13-10-2 on the season, while Penn State is 7-14.

BISON BASEBALL NOTEBOOK

Against Penn State
- For a 22nd straight year, the Bison will take on the Nittany Lions in a series that began in 1882. Wednesday marks the 143rd all-time meeting between the squads.
- Last season, the Orange and Blue came up just short against Penn State, falling by the score 6-5 in University Park, Pa.
- Probable pitching matchup: RHP Doug Shribman (Marblehead, Mass./Belmont Hill School) (0-0, 16.88 ERA) vs. LHP Calvin Grumley (0-0, 13.50 ERA).

The Bison Briefly
- Senor Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School) currently paces the Bison with a .435 batting average and boasts a .919 slugging percentage, one at bat short of qualifying for the lead in the Patriot League in both categories. He is tops in the league in home runs with nine, ranks second in runs scored (21), third in RBI (22) and third in total bases (57).
- Sophomore John Avanzino (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset), the reigning Patriot League Player of the Week and Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week, ranks first in the Patriot League in batting average at .433 with 29 hits in 67 at bats, is first in RBI with 26, first in on base percentage (.466) and first in slugging percentage (.896). He is also second for home runs with eight, tied for fourth with seven doubles and is second in total bases with 60.
- Senior Mark Angelo (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) is right behind Avanzino on the Patriot League leaderboard as he ranks second with a .383 batting average and paces the Bucknell squad in hits with 36. In addition, he ranks in the PL top-10 with 21 RBI (T-4th), 18 runs scored (T-9th), 43 total bases (8th), a .445 on base percentage (3rd) and a .457 slugging percentage (10th).
- Also among the league's offensive leaders are: junior Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) (.341 batting avg. (7th), three home runs (T-6th), six stolen bases (T-6th), 18 runs scored (T-9th), 45 total bases (6th), .511 slugging pct. (4th)), sophomore Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata) (11 walks (T-6th), 20 runs scored (T-3rd)), senior Ed Rubbo (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) (10 walks (10th)), sophomore Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West) (6 doubles (T-8th)) and senior Austin Turban (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) (.429 on base percentage (T-7th)).
- Freshman Dylan Seeley (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) leads the Bison pitching staff in ERA, but does not have enough innings under his belt to qualify for the league leaders in that category. In 24.0 innings of work, Seeley is 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA.
- Freshman Eric Jarrett (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) is 3-2 on the year and ranks fourth in the Patriot League with a 3.12 ERA. He is tied for seventh in the league with 29 strikeouts and averages 6.47 per game. He ranks fourth in opponent batting average as well, as he has held hitters to a .231 average in 40.1 innings on the mound.
- Buursma leads the Patriot League in strikeouts with 37 and averages 8.06 per nine innings. He holds a league-best record of 4-0 in 10 appearances and has walked just seven batters in 41.1 innings of work. He ranks first in innings pitched, is tied for third in appearances (10) and is seventh in opponent batting average (.256).

Recapping Bucknell's Series at Army
- Bucknell opened its Patriot League schedule on Saturday, Mar. 29, taking game one at Army by a convincing 10-5 score before suffering a heartbreaking 9-8 loss in 13 innings in game two. Army began game one with a 3-0 lead, however, Bucknell struck for seven runs on seven hits in the top of the fourth to pull in front, 7-4 and then increased its advantage to 8-4 in the fifth. The Black Knights took the run back in their next turn at-bat, but in the top of the sixth, the Orange and Blue countered with two more as Avanzino collected his second home run of the contest, a two-run shot that scored Angelo. Army tallied the final run of the contest in the bottom of the seventh, bringing the final score to 10-5. Buursma tossed a complete game for Bucknell, allowing five runs, two earned, on 10 hits with two walks and a career-high eight strikeouts to improve to 4-0 on the season. In 20 career appearances against PL foes, Buursma is now 6-0 with 10 saves. In game two, Army rallied from a 6-3 deficit in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings and won the contest after scoring three with two out in the 13th. Down to its last out with no runners on, Army rallied for three runs. The first came in on a single by Clint Moore, while the tying and winning runs were driven in by Andy Ernesto with a triple to left center. Jarrett worked eight innings and struck out a season-best eight batters, but did not earn a decision for the Orange and Blue. Sophomore Andrew Clarke (Montgomery, Texas/Montgomery) took the loss for the Bison (0-2) after allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and no strikeouts. Avanzino led the Bison at the plate on the day, finishing 5-for-10 in the doubleheader with three home runs, a double, six RBI and three runs scored. Grandizio went 4-for-11 with two RBI and a run scored.
- The Bison finished off their series with Army on Sunday, Mar. 30, with a sweep of the second doubleheader of the weekend. The Bison took game one, 8-5, and rode a solid pitching performance by Seeley to a 3-1 victory in game two. After falling down 3-0 in game one, Bucknell responded by batting around in top of the second, scoring five runs on four hits to take a 5-3 lead. The Black Knights got one of the runs back in their next turn at-bat. Then in the top of the third, the Bison countered with two as senior Shawn Hirsch (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) and Rubbo crossed the plate on a single by sophomore Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley). In the bottom of the inning, the scoring continued, with Army pulling to within 7-4. Four singles for the Orange and Blue in the top of the seventh yielded the team's eighth run, with Rubbo driving in Turban. Junior Jimmy Murphy (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) pitched four scoreless innings of relief for the Bison and picked up the win (1-0), allowing just two hits and striking out three, while walking none. Yoder, Grandizio, Avanzino and Allen all went 2-for-4 in game one, Avanzino with a home run, a double, two RBI and a run scored. After six scoreless innings in the second contest, Bucknell managed three runs in the seventh. Yoder walked and crossed the plate on an RBI single by Angelo. The next batter, Buursma, plated Grandizio, who reached with a single up the middle and Angelo came in on an error. Army spoiled the shutout with a run in the ninth on an RBI single by Ben Koenigsfeld, but that would be all as Seeley went the distance for the Bison to earn the victory (2-0). He scattered one run on five hits with three walks and one strikeout over nine innings. Angelo led Bucknell at the plate in game two, going 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.

Entering the Bison Record Book
- Buursma is climbing the ranks in the Bucknell record book as he moved into a tie for third in career home runs (20) this past week and is now one shy of tying the program's career mark. He is also tied for sixth in career RBI (98), is tied for eighth in hits (148), is ninth in total bases (251), and is ninth in triples (9). His career ERA of 2.26 is now second in both the Bison's and Patriot League's top-10 all-time, while his average of 2.71 walks per-nine innings is fifth-lowest in school history and his strikeouts per-nine innings ranks sixth (7.49). He also holds the school record for saves (tied for second in PL history) with 15 and is third in appearances (61).
- Buursma and Avanzino have both entered Bucknell's single season home run top-10 list as Buursma is tied for fourth with nine and Avanzino is tied for seventh with eight. - Brouse posted three doubles on Mar. 12 versus Illinois State to tie a school single game record set by Pete Gorski against William & Mary in 1996.
- Bucknell set a team record for doubles in a game with eight against IPFW on Mar. 9, surpassing the previous record of seven, which was set twice--versus Rochester in 1975 and against Lehigh in 1990.

Buursma and Wilson Named Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidates
- Buursma and senior Mathew Wilson (Toronto, Ontario/Northern S.S.) were recently named to a list of 30 national candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the baseball division. The honor will be presented in June to the top senior student-athlete in collegiate baseball who demonstrates the qualities both on and off the field of what it means to be a complete student-athlete, with specific attention paid to achievements in the classroom and community. Buursma and Wilson are the second and third Bison student-athletes to be nominees for the accolade as 2007 graduate Ryan Gryskevicz was a finalist for the inaugural award last spring and was named an All-Senior All-American. Bucknell is one of only two schools in the nation with two candidates for the award, along with Creighton. A list of 10 finalists will be announced in April.

Patriot League Preseason Poll
- Bucknell was tabbed fourth in the Patriot League Preseason poll, which was announced on Feb. 20. The Bison, who finished with a record of 16-24 last season (8-12 PL) picked up 29 points and two first-place votes, while Navy was first (43 points, four first-place votes), Lafayette second (42 points, four first-place votes) and Army third (37 points, two first-place votes).
- The Patriot League tournament has a new format beginning in 2008 as it will move from a three-team one weekend event to a four-team field with best-of-three semifinals and championship series played on back-to-back weekends, May 10-11 and May 16-17, at the home fields of the higher seeds.

Watch Lists
- Two of Bucknell's three senior co-captains have earned national preseason recognition. Buursma was named to the National Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award watch list for a second consecutive year. The award, which was first presented in 2005, is given annually to the top relief pitcher in Division I baseball.
- Wilson was one of three Patriot League players to make the preseason cut for the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award watch list and, most recently, was named a candidate for the Roger Clemens Award. Buursma and Wilson finished one-two in the Patriot League in ERA in 2007 at 1.65 and 1.78, respectively. Wilson's innings qualified him for the national leaders, where he finished ranked eighth in Division I in ERA.

Bison Honors
- Patriot League Player of the Week: Dane Grandizio (3/4/08), John Avanzino (3/31/08)
- Patriot League Pitcher of the Week: Eric Jarrett (3/11/08), Jason Buursma (3/17/08) - Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week: Jason Buursma (3/24/08), John Avanzino (3/31/08)

Next Up
- Bucknell next travels to Easton, Pa., for its final road weekend of the regular season as the squad will take on Lafayette in a four-game Patriot League series with doubleheaders on Saturday, Apr. 5, and Sunday, Apr. 6, beginning at 12 p.m. each day.