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03/20/2021 | 12 o’clock
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LEWISBURG, PA. – The Lehigh baseball team ended a wild 12-inning affair in Bucknell on Sunday by running away in a 17:10 win to win the weekend series against the bison. On Sunday, the Mountain Hawks scored 15 of their 17 runs in the second and 12th innings. For all runs scored, junior pitcher Matt Stamford had perhaps the most important performance, throwing 5.2 hit innings in relief for the win. With the win, Lehigh improves to 4-5, 2-1 in the Patriot League, while Bucknell drops to 1-5 and 1-2 in the league game.
“Matt got promoted in a few late innings and under high pressure and got things sorted,” said Lehigh’s head coach Sean Leary. “He was our MVP today.”
The Mountain Hawks fell 5-0 in the first inning but immediately responded with eight points in the second. The inning started with five hits in a row, all singles except a double from sophomore Cam Hubbard. The rest of the inning saw no more hits, but four hits from pitches, an RBI groundout and a sacrificial fly to bring the Mountain Hawks 8-5 in the front.
The bison responded with a total of five runs over the fifth and six innings, while Lehigh ran over individual runs in the sixth and seventh runs, respectively. In the seventh, a Casey Rother RBI single knotted the score at 10, adding to the extra innings.
The top of the 12th started with a Gerard Sweeney triple and a Rother double to hit Sweeney and give Lehigh an 11-10 lead. Before the inning was said and done, the Mountain Hawks scored seven goals – despite only three total hits. That was more than enough for Stamford, who at the end of the inning pulled Bucknell back to end the 17:10 victory.
“Today’s windy conditions made execution challenging for both teams,” said Leary. “But our boys played a tough game and were a bit tough after an early five-run deficit. Our willingness to do the little things today was the key to our offensive success. Eric Cichocki was once again the grassroots leader six times . ” and Rother and Sweeney hit the clutch a couple of times. “
Cichocki finished the day 1: 3, but with a walk and four hits. Rother was 4: 7 in the afternoon with three RBI and three runs. Freshman Riley Davis also had multiple hits, finishing the 2-of-3 with three RBIs and one run.
“Learning to win when things aren’t perfect is key to a successful season. Today the guys just held out until they found a way,” said Leary.
The Mountain Hawks are slated to get back into action this coming weekend with a three-game series against Navy that will feature the Midshipmen twice on Saturday before heading to Annapolis for a single game on Sunday.
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