LEWISBURG, Pa. – A bloop RBI single from Bucknell's Zach Selfon in the 13th inning ended the Navy baseball team's seven-game winning streak on Monday afternoon, with the Bison (22-21, 15-8 PL) prevailing for the 5-4 extra-inning victory over the Midshipmen (29-15, 15-8 PL) at Depew Field in Lewisburg, Pa.
Avoiding the weekend sweep by Navy, Bucknell's win and Army's own extra-inning walk-off victory on Monday brought the Mids, Bison and Black Knights all into a three-way tie atop the Patriot League heading into the final week of the regular season.
Navy got the marathon contest started by taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, as
Victor Izquierdo ripped a one-out single and then went first-to-home on
Evan Brown's double to the right-field wall. Bucknell wasted no time tying the game, as Billy Fluharty doubled to lead off the home half of the first and eventually tagged up from third base on John Calabrese's sacrifice fly after a Michael Trommer single moved him over.
The Mids retook the lead just a few minutes later when
Noah Stead got to third base on a Bucknell fielding error at the left-center warning track, easily coming home for a 2-1 lead on
Tyler Cripe's single into right field. Bucknell clawed back to even the game again in the bottom of the third when Calabrese singled home Trommer, but Navy starter
Tyler Grenn escaped more damage with a 4-6-3 double play.
With one on in the fourth, Trommer gave Bucknell the lead with a sun-aided triple to the right-field warning track that plated Fluharty. The Bison used another triple to extend the lead in the fifth, as Garrett Mathias tripled on a ball to center and crossed home three pitches later on another Calabrese sacrifice fly, making it 4-2.
Navy was able to bring the score even again by scoring in the sixth and seventh innings, as
Jake Hooten singled to start the sixth and got around on a steal, a groundout and a Stead infield single, while Brown led off the seventh with a no-doubt home run to left field to knot the game at 4-4, but Mikey Myro was able to pitch the Bison out of a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity for the Mids.
After both teams failed to muster much in the eighth and ninth due to the opponent's bullpen, Navy put the go-ahead run in scoring position with Stead's double to lead off the 10th, but Bucknell closer Hadley Maxwell got the heart of the Mids' order out to negate the threat. Navy reliever
Jackson Clark then did the same, working around a pair of two-out walks in the bottom of the frame by inducing a Trommer flyout.
Loading the bases with one out in the 12th, Bucknell had its hopes dashed for the inning when
Timmy Virtudes shut down the threat by striking out Fluharty and getting another Trommer flyout. The Bison would finally walk if off an inning later, though, as Mathias singled and was pinch-ran for by Chris Morabito, who raced all the way home from first on a two-out blooping hit by Selfon that was just a shade too deep for Stead to get to in the left-center gap.
Rookie starter Tyler Seidman went five innings for Bucknell, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits, while Myro gave up two runs in his 1.1 innings, Bryce Mitchell kept the Mids scoreless for 2.2 innings and Maxwell pitched the final four shutout frames to earn the win, striking out five and allowing just two hits.
Grenn allowed four runs (three earned) in his five-inning start before
Jackson Beattie pitched four scoreless frames and Clark tossed 2.1 shutout innings, while Virtudes took the hard-luck loss despite striking out three Bison in his 1.1 innings of relief.
Game Notes
• Navy now holds a 103-90-1 all-time record against Bucknell.
• Beattie's four innings pitched marked a season high for the right-hander.
• Walsh improved his hitting streak to 16 games and his on-base streak to 25 games.
• Klug, Brown and Cripe all extended their hitting streaks to seven games.
Up Next
Navy will return to Annapolis for its regular-season-ending homestand, starting with a 3:05 p.m. contest against Manhattan on Wednesday.
