Holy Cross Wins Patriot Championship Series Opener

May 22, 2010
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Series To Conclude Saturday

Worcester, Mass. – After Bucknell rallied to take the lead with four runs in the top of the ninth, Holy Cross scored a pair of two-out runs for a walk-off, 8-7, victory over the Bison in game one of the Patriot League Baseball Championship series on Friday evening at Fitton Field.

The Crusaders will go for their first Patriot League Baseball title on Saturday, when the teams square off in game two of the series at 1 p.m. If the Bison win that contest, game three will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two and the winner will be crowned Patriot League champion.

Holy Cross' Matt Perry (Courtesy Patriot League)

In the bottom of the ninth, Matt Perry walked to get on base and moved to second on a wild pitch. The Crusaders were down to their final strike before Eric Oxford drove in Perry with the tying run on a single up the middle. Steve Tkowski came up next, and hit what appeared to be a routine fly ball to right field. However, Bucknell’s Andrew Brouse lost the ball in the lights and pinch-runner Chris Blanchard came around to score on what ended up as a double for Tkowski.

Bucknell used the long ball to even the score in the top of the ninth inning, and added another run to take the lead. Bob Donato hit a two-run home run and Scott Reed followed with a solo shot to tie the score at 6-6, and Ben Yoder singled in a run with two outs to give the Bison a 7-6 edge heading to the bottom of the ninth.

The Crusaders led most of the way leading into the final inning. After scoring the first run of the game in the third inning, Bucknell took a brief lead when Brouse hit a two-run home run in the fourth. Holy Cross responded with two runs on a Brendan McCrea double in the bottom of the frame, and added another run in the bottom of the fifth.

Holy Cross built a 6-2 lead in the seventh inning on a two-run home run by Stephen Wadsworth, while Bucknell got a run back in the eighth to set up the wild ninth inning.

Perry finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs to pace the Crusader offense, while Tkowski was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Nate Koneski had a strong start through eight innings before giving up the home runs in the ninth, and ended with six runs and 10 hits allowed over eight innings. Bobby Holmes gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth but picked up the victory as the offense rallied.

Yoder, Brouse and Donato each had two hits with a run and two RBIs for the Bison. David Duffett was 2-for-4 with the go-ahead run in the ninth. Dylan Seeley allowed six runs, five earned, in seven innings on the mound, while Steve Carlin suffered the loss in relief.

Friday, May 21
Championship Series (Best-of-Three)
Holy Cross 8, Bucknell 7 (Game 1) 6 p.m. Box Score | Recap | Audio
Saturday, May 22
Championship Series (Best-of-Three)
No. 4 Bucknell at No. 3 Holy Cross (Game 2) 1 p.m. Box Score | Recap | Audio
No. 4 Bucknell at No. 3 Holy Cross (Game 3-If Necessary) 4 p.m. Box Score | Recap | Audio

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