Saint Joseph’s leaned on a dominant pitching performance and timely hitting to open its weekend series with a 2–0 victory over Bucknell on Friday at Depew Field.
The Hawks’ staff overpowered the Bison lineup from start to finish, combining for 15 strikeouts without issuing a walk while limiting Bucknell to just three hits. Duke McCarron set the tone, delivering five scoreless innings in his start. The right-hander allowed only two hits while striking out seven to earn his first win in a Saint Joseph’s uniform.
The Hawks broke through in the fourth inning. Blake Primrose ignited the rally with a one-out triple and scored moments later when Joey Pagano beat out an infield single to give Saint Joseph’s a 1–0 lead. The Hawks collected seven hits on the afternoon, with Primrose and Richard Beggy each recording multi-hit games. Alex Kelsey added a key extra-base hit and Joey Gale reached base to spark the team’s late insurance run.
Saint Joseph’s doubled its lead in the eighth inning. Gale singled with two outs to keep the frame alive before Kelsey lined a triple that chased Gale home and pushed the advantage to 2–0.
The bullpen ensured the lead held. Christian Coppola dominated across three shutout innings, striking out six of the nine batters he faced while allowing just one hit. Andrew Gaines then closed the door with a perfect ninth inning, striking out two to record his first save of the season.
Bucknell starter Jonathan Adelmann kept the Bison in the game with a strong outing of his own, allowing just one run on four hits over seven innings. But the Hawks’ pitching staff proved even sharper, retiring the final 12 Bucknell hitters in order to seal the shutout.
With the victory, Saint Joseph’s improves to 4–7 on the season as the series continues Saturday in Lewisburg before shifting to Hawk Hill on Sunday.
In Other Action
No. 10 Clemson 14, La Salle 1
La Salle ran into one of the nation’s hottest teams Friday afternoon as No. 10 Clemson scored early and often in a 14–1 victory over the Explorers at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The Explorers (8–3) briefly grabbed momentum in the opening inning when Chase Swain launched a solo home run to left field, giving La Salle a 1–0 lead. The advantage was short-lived, however, as Clemson responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Tyler Lichtenberger delivered an RBI single that was followed by a two-run ground-rule double from Jacob Jarrell as the Tigers quickly flipped the game.
Clemson continued to apply pressure in the second inning. Luke Gaffney lined a two-run double to left before Lichtenberger added another RBI single, pushing the lead to 7–1 and forcing La Salle starter Owen MacDonnell from the game after 1⅔ innings. MacDonnell was charged with seven runs on six hits while walking three.
The Tigers broke the game open in the third when Tryston McCladdie blasted a three-run homer to right-center as part of a four-run inning that extended the lead to 11–1. Clemson added another run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly and tacked on two more in the sixth to bring the run-rule into play.
La Salle finished with four hits. Swain’s home run accounted for the lone run, while Carter Groen, Rueben Livingston, and Alec Welshans each added a hit.
Connor Collora and Dante Edwardi provided relief innings for the Explorers, but Clemson’s offense remained in control throughout. The Tigers collected 10 hits and drew eight walks while improving to 12–1 on the season.
The teams continue the series Saturday in Clemson.
Florida A&M 4, Villanova 1
Villanova opened its weekend series with a 4–1 loss to Florida A&M on Friday at Moore-Kittles Field. The Rattlers scored in each of the first three innings to build a 3–0 lead before Carter Richey and Mark Giallusi sparked a Wildcats rally in the fifth, with Giallusi doubling home Richey to cut the deficit to two. Florida A&M answered with a run on a passed ball later in the inning to restore a three-run cushion. Villanova collected eight hits, including two apiece from Michael Whooley and Giallusi, but could not generate a late rally. Bobby Finn provided 3.1 scoreless innings in relief as the Wildcats fell to 3–7.
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