Game One Box Score (Army 9, Bucknell 2)

Game Two Box Score (Bucknell 7, Army 5; 7 inns.)

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Ben Koenigsfeld carried a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning of the first game and Army’s furious late-game rally fell just shy in a darkness-shortened nightcap as Army and Bucknell split a Patriot League doubleheader, Sunday afternoon at soggy Depew Field.

On the strength of an outstanding pitching effort by Koenigsfeld, the Black Knights captured the first game 9-2, then suffered a 7-5 loss in the second game, which was cut short after seven innings due to darkness. The start of the second game was delayed more than an hour by rain, endured a pair of lightening delays and fell victim to a controversial ending when the umpires called the game abruptly after seven innings.

In the seven-inning opener, Koenigsfeld and Bucknell’s Eric Jarrett remained locked in a pitcher’s duel through the first six innings. Both pitchers faced the minimum number batters across the first three innings and both teams managed just one hit  and one baserunner entering the fourth inning.

The Black Knights broke through in the fourth as Zach Price dumped a leadoff single into shallow left field and Army loaded the bases on walks by David Darnell and Koenigsfeld. Jarrett then plunked J.P. Polchinski with his first offering, forcing in the first run of the game.

It appeared Koenigsfeld would make that single run stand up as he carried a one-hit shutout into the bottom of the seventh inning. By that time, Army had built its lead to 9-0, blowing open the contest in the top of the seventh inning by scoring eight runs on five base hits.

After allowing a leadoff single to Ben Allen in the bottom of the first inning, Koenigsfeld was in complete command, retiring eight consecutive batters and 17 of the next 18 batters entering the seventh. He sat down nine consecutive Bison batters heading into the seventh inning, helping Army cling to its 1-0 lead.

The Black Knights, who left the bases loaded in the fourth inning and stranded single runners in the fifth and sixth frames, finally opened things up against Jarrett (0-1) in the top of the seventh inning. Kyle Fleming ripped a leadoff single to left field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Andy Ernesto. Watkins walked and Fleming moved to third when Jarrett’s fourth ball to Fleming eluded Bison catcher B.J. LaRosa for a wild pitch, placing runners at first and third. Price walked to load the bases, chasing Jarrett from the game.

Alex Cillo relieved Jarrett and was promptly greeted by a line-drive single into left field by Darnell, scoring Fleming. Moore  followed with a two-run double to the gap in right-center field, stretching Army’s lead to 4-1. Joey Henshaw drilled an opposite-field double down the left-field line to deliver two more runs as the Black Knights pushed their lead to 6-1. After Koenigsfeld struck out for the second out of the inning and Polchinski walked, Jimmy Murphy relieved Cillo and surrendered a three-run home run to Fleming. Batting from the left side after singling from the right side to open the inning, Fleming smashed his second home run of the season, a towering fly over the fence in right field that extended the Black Knights’ lead to 9-0.

Bucknell ended Koenigsfeld’s shutout bid in its final plate appearance as Bob Donato registered a leadoff single to left field, Andy Brouse reached on an infield single and both runners moved up a base on a throwing error by Price. Doug Shribman’s two-run single up the middle accounted for the final 9-2 margin.

Fleming went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three runs batted in to pace Army’s 10-hit attack, while Moore finished 2-for-4 with one run scored and one run batted in.

Koenigsfeld (2-3), who allowed just two Bison baserunners over the first six innings, did not permit a Bucknell player into scoring position until the seventh inning, after Army had stretched its lead. The sophomore right-hander yielded four hits (all singles), while striking out nine and walking only one in registering Army’s first complete game of the season.

The Black Knights (9-11, 1-3 Patriot) grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the second game when Ernesto  stroked a one-out double, stole third base and scored on a sacrifice fly by Clint Moore. But Bucknell (11-13, 3-1 Patriot) jumped on Army starter Kirk Porter for four runs on four hits in the bottom of the frame, with run-scoring singles by Doug Shribman and Zach Brown, sandwiched around an RBI double by Andy Loucks.
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A sacrifice fly by Polchinski closed the Black Knights’ margin to 4-2 in the top of the second inning, but the Bison padded their lead to 6-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the stanza. Dane Grandizio’s run-scoring double delivered the Bison’s first run of the inning. He would score the second on a pair of wild pitches by Porter.

Army pulled to within 6-3 against Bucknell starter Dylan Seeley (1-3) in the fourth when Henshaw doubled and scored on a single through the right side of the infield by Fleming. The Bison got the run back in the sixth inning when Donato singled off Army reliever Tyler Anderegg and advanced to second on the play when the ball was mishandled in the outfield. Grandizio’s single to center scored Donato with a critical insurance run.

With two outs and no one on base in the seventh, the Black Knights mounted their final rally, pushing across two runs after Darnell’s leadoff walk chased Seeley immediately after the second lightening delay. Sean Driscoll was summoned from the Bucknell bullpen and induced J.T. Watkins to hit into a 1-6-3 double-play, but Army would not fold.

Price reached base on a fielding error by Bison third baseman David Duffett and moved to second following an errant throw in from the outfield on the same play. Ernesto laced an RBI single to center field to carry the Black Knights within 7-4. After Ernesto moved to second on a wild pitch, Moore ripped a booming double to the gap in left-center field. That brought Henshaw, Army’s cleanup hitter, to the plate representing the tying run. After working the count to 3-0, Henshaw ripped a scalding line drive right at Bucknell shortstop Ben Allen on a 3-1 pitch to end the inning.

At that point, the game was called due to darkness, despite the sun still shining through streaking cloud cover.

Ernesto collected two of Army’s seven hits in the second game, while Grandizio went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two runs batted in and Shribman went 2-for-2 with one run scored and one RBI to pace Bucknell’s 10-hit attack.

Seeley notched the win for the Bison, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits while fanning three and walking two over six-plus innings of work. Porter (1-2) suffered the loss for Army. The sophomore right-hander was touched for six runs (six earned) and eight hits over 3.2 innings. He struck out three and walked two.

Black Knights Blog: Ben Koenigsfeld narrowly missed firing his second career complete-game shutout in the opener ... Army played without the services of sophomore Kevin McKague on Sunday due to a minor injury ... the Black Knights outhit Bucknell 10-4 in the first game ... the teams combined to commit six errors (two by Army, four by Bucknell) in the second game ... the second game was delayed 33 minutes by two separate lightening delays ... the start of the second game was delayed 1:18 due to rain ... Navy swept a doubleheader from Lafayette Sunday, while Lehigh’s twinbill at Holy Cross was rained out ... after sweeping a doubleheader from Lehigh on Saturday, Holy Cross stands atop the Patriot League standings at 2-0, followed by Navy and Bucknell at 3-1 ... Army and Lafayette are tied for fourth at 1-3, with Lehigh in sixth at 0-2 ... it marks the second straight season that Army has dropped three of four games to Bucknell in the teams’ conference-opening series ... the Black Knights have not managed more than one victory in their first four-game conference series of the season since 2005.