The baseball team battled in a three-game home series against Bucknell University last weekend, dropping the first two games and winning the third. The doubleheader sweep eliminated the Leopards from postseason contention on their senior day.
“I can say I’ve learned so much,” said senior outfielder Easton Brenner, one of nine seniors dedicated during the weekend. “The last four years, I went out the best baseball player I’ve been, so I got no regrets. I just got to enjoy the game of baseball.”
Saturday’s doubleheader opened with a 5-3 loss for the Maroon and White (9-16 Patriot League, 14-35 overall). The Bison (10-15 Patriot League, 18-27 overall) took an early 5-0 lead before the Leopards got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, courtesy of a two-run home run to left field by freshman outfielder Jack Mislan.
“You just have to simplify the game to hit with power,” Brenner said. “With hitting, I found much success in not really doing too much.”
Freshman infielder Liam Ebbs slashed an RBI single to left field to close the gap to two in the seventh. The Leopards were unable to push another run across the plate, suffering the defeat.
Looking to bounce back in game two, junior utility player Ryan Ulisse put the Leopards in front in the second inning on a two-run shot to right field, taking a 2-1 advantage. The home run derby continued as the Bison responded in the next frame, followed by Mislan’s second moonshot of the day to retake the lead.
Bucknell knocked two RBI-hits in the fifth to take what proved to be the game-winning run. Both pitching staffs combined for four straight scoreless innings to conclude the game, and the final score remained 4-3 in favor of Bucknell.
Despite taking the loss, junior left-handed pitcher Trace Florio handled business on the mound, giving up two earned runs on five hits and recording four strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
With 24 combined runs on Sunday’s game three, the Leopards ended their season with a downpour of rain and a 13-11 high note.
After Bucknell managed four runs in the second inning, the Leopards fought back to 4-2 in the bottom of the frame, as both Ulisse and senior infielder Trevor Dutra had RBI-groundouts. The teams traded two runs apiece in the third, including senior infielder Michael Zarrillo’s 24th career home run to extend his school record.
“I’ve worked hard my whole career,” Zarrillo said. “I told my teammates I would trade every one of those home runs to win, but it’s still a cool accomplishment.”
The Leopards tied it up 6-6 in the fourth with an RBI-single from junior catcher Ethan Swidler and a Zarrillo left-field sacrifice fly.
“The last three years we’ve ended on a loss in the rain,” Zarrillo said. “It was nice to win, but it was the saddest I’ve been my whole life, because it’s coming to the end of a place I called home for four years.”
Freshman Alex Barrist ripped a three-run fifth-inning home run to left field to take a 9-7 advantage. The Bison did not back down, however, tying the game in the sixth before Ulisse tripled to bring in the go-ahead run.
Zarrillo and senior outfielder Kaleb Willis added insurance in the seventh with a two-RBI single to right field and an RBI-fielder’s choice, respectively. Bucknell’s comeback attempt fell short in the ninth, securing the victory for the Leopards.
“If you look at where we started as coaches and the growth on the team, we became better,” head coach A.J. Miller ’11 said. “Lots of new guys on the lineup and we were consistently competitive.”