The baseball team (14-32 overall, 8-13 Patriot League) faced off against Bucknell (21-22 overall, 12-13 Patriot League) this past weekend, dropping all three games and succumbing to its sixth series sweep of the season. The team also lost to out-of-conference opponent Monmouth (14-24 overall) 7-6 on Wednesday.
The Leopards traveled to Depew Field as winners of five of their last seven games, including a series win against Holy Cross, which was just their second series win of the year.
The series opener got off to a rocky start for the Leopards, as the Bison took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. Junior corner infielder Michael Zarillo responded in the top of the third, lining a single to right field that drove in sophomore catcher Ethan Swidler, cutting the lead to two.
The Bison blew the game open with a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings, stretching the lead to 7-1. Bucknell only continued to pull away down the stretch, winning 12-3.
Game two proved to be even spottier for the Leopards, as the Bison exploded for seven first-inning runs.
Despite an attempt to come back by the Leopards, the Bison continued to pile on runs and build an insurmountable lead. The Maroon and White took a 15-3 loss by mercy rule. Junior pitcher Joe Skapinetz took the loss on the afternoon after surrendering five first-inning runs without recording an out.
The Maroon and White struck first in the series finale on Sunday. Freshman infielder Matt Colella ripped a double down the left field line and was brought home by junior outfielder Easton Brenner on a right field sacrifice fly, giving the Leopards a 1-0 first-inning lead.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Bucknell took an 8-1 lead after four innings. Both teams exchanged five runs each for the remainder of the game, as the Leopards dropped the game 13-6 to secure the series sweep for the Bison. Senior pitcher Joey Pence took the loss, allowing two runs across only two innings of action.
On Wednesday, the Leopards hosted the Monmouth Hawks at Kamine Stadium. Lafayette got off to a hot start, putting up two runs in the first inning, courtesy of a Zarillo RBI-triple and a Fadio RBI-groundout. However, the team lagged behind in the third and fourth innings, surrendering three runs and finding themselves down by one.
After four scoreless frames for the Leopard offense, the bats finally came alive in the sixth inning. Freshman corner infielder Ryan Grace clutched a right field triple that cleared the bases. Senior catcher Michael Mallas drove in Grace on a center field sacrifice fly, giving Lafayette a 6-3 lead.
However, the Hawks put together an eighth-inning rally in which they hit two RBI-singles, stole home plate and scored on a wild pitch to complete the comeback and retake a one-run lead. The Leopard offense failed to respond, losing 7-6. This was the fourth straight loss for the Maroon and White. Freshman pitcher John Milewski, who surrendered all four eighth-inning runs, picked up the loss.
The Leopards will return to action this upcoming weekend with a pair of doubleheaders. They will travel to Worcester, Massachusetts, tomorrow to take on Holy Cross, and will then make their way to West Point, New York, on Sunday to face off against Army.
Four members of the baseball team did not respond to requests for comment.