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Freshman Andy Campbell earned his first collegiate victory Thursday against Lafayette.

Bucknell Baseball Bests Lafayette, 8-6

Campbell Records First Collegiate Victory

March 16, 2006

Box Score

FRESNO, Calif. - Freshman Andy Campbell (Mill Valley, Calif./Marin Catholic) earned his first collegiate victory as the Bucknell baseball team rolled to an 8-6 win over Lafayette at Fresno State's Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic on Thursday afternoon. The victory improves the Bison to 5-7 overall while Lafayette drops to 3-8 on the year.

Bucknell jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning as senior Kyle Walter (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg Area) drove in classmates Brad Duvall (Hampstead, Md./Hereford) and Matt Capece (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) with a single to left.

The Bison then made it 7-0 by plating five more in the fifth. Sophomore Shawn Hirsch (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) began the inning with a single to center. Then senior Chris Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) doubled to right, setting up Capece with runners on second and third with no outs. Capece responded by depositing a single in shallow centerfield, which scored Hirsch and Grandizio. Walter followed with a single to plate Duvall for his third RBI of the contest and with two out, junior Ryan Gryskevicz (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) brought home Walter and Capece for the final two runs of the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, Lafayette managed to get on the board with a two-RBI single to right by Nick Benvenuto that scored Frank Cortazar and Tom Ambrosole. The Leopards looked to add a third on a single by Tom Hayes, but Walter gunned down Benvenuto at the plate for the final out of the inning.

Bucknell promptly took one of the runs back the following inning. With two out in the seventh, Gryskevicz drove in sophomore Jason Buursma (Seattle Wash./Lakeside School) with a single up the middle.

Lafayette responded in the bottom of the seventh by scoring three times. A two-run double to right center by Kevin Reese brought in James Conrad and Ian Law. Then Ian McCutcheon followed with a single to score Reese and cut the Leopards' deficit to 8-5.

With two out in the bottom of the ninth, Cortazar drove in Law with a single to make it a two-run game. This brought McCutcheon to the plate, representing the tying run for the Leopards, but senior Ian Rainey (Littleton, Colo./Littleton) picked up the strikeout to end the game.

Walter and Gryskevicz led the Bison hitters, both going 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Walter also added a run scored. Capece hit 2-for-5 in the contest with two runs scored, Grandizio batted 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored and Duvall was 1-for-2 with two runs scored. Reese and Benvenuto contributed two RBI apiece for the Leopards.

For Bucknell, Campbell threw six innings and allowed two runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts to earn the victory (1-0). Rainey worked three innings in relief of Campbell and allowed four runs on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts to record the save. Starter Steve Roberts took the loss (0-2) for Lafayette, tossing 4.2 innings and allowing seven runs on eight hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

The Bison continue play in the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic tomorrow, March 17, with a game against host Fresno State at 10 p.m., Eastern.