The Lehigh Mountain Hawks baseball team swept its doubleheader with the Bucknell Bison — 6-4 and 6-5 — on Sunday at J. David Walker Field in Bethlehem.
Bucknell (12-19, 5-10) had won seven of the last eight matchups against Lehigh (18-12-1, 5-6) coming into the day, but Sunday was different.
In a pair of high-scoring, high-event contests, coach Sean Leary said the biggest difference between Sunday’s sweep and Saturday’s pair of losses against Navy was timely hitting and great relief pitching.
“I think the biggest factor of the day was our relievers coming into tough situations,” Leary said. “Pitching out of a jam, and then getting high innings after, was pretty outstanding from their side.”
Game 1: Lehigh 6, Bucknell 4 (7)
Lehigh beat Bucknell 6-4 in Game 1, snapping a four-game losing streak, but it took a comeback to do it.
Trailing 1-0, and pitching with the bases loaded in the top of the first inning, Lehigh starter Jack Hamilton hit a Bucknell batter and then walked the next to drive in two straight runs.
Amidst a losing streak and down by three runs early, Lehigh needed someone to stem the tide.
First-year pitcher Julio Ermigiotti did just that.
Ermigiotti entered the game with two outs in the first and went the rest of the way for the Mountain Hawks. He struck out five batters and only allowed one earned run in 6.1 innings.
“We got to the sixth inning, and he gave you that look that coaches want to see, which is, ‘I got this, I’m going to finish this out,’” Leary said.
Leary said they put Ermigiotti in the game earlier than they wanted to, but he felt comfortable doing so because they use him in a variety of situations. Ermigiotti usually works in tandem with Hamilton as a pitching duo.
“Coach is always confident in the Hamilton-and-then-me combo,” Ermigiotti said. “These past few innings, I wasn’t really confident in myself, but it’s a matter of just staying relaxed. Just have trust in your defense, throw it down there and let the hitters hit, let fielders make the play.”
Ermigiotti, already a two-time Patriot League first-year of the week, credited a slight change in his mechanics to his recent success. Instead of always pitching out of the stretch, he focused on using his full windup.
Offensively, Lehigh had only scored 10 runs in their last five games entering play on Sunday. It wasn’t until junior second baseman Rafe Perich, Lehigh’s leader in batting average (.407) and OPS (1.150), singled to left field to put the Mountain Hawks on the board.
“There were probably anywhere from eight to 10 scouts here today,” Leary said. “The reality is his numbers are his numbers — people don’t pitch to him unless they have to. What I love about Rafe is he’ll take a walk trusting that the guys behind him are going to hit.”
Lehigh left fielder Braydon Hubbard takes a swing during a game against Bucknell on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at J. David Walker Field. Lehigh swept the doubleheader. (Alec Eskin/B&W Staff)
Bucknell opened its lead back up to three runs in the top of the fourth inning. The Bison tallied their only run off of Ermigiotti in the fourth inning on an RBI single by junior shortstop Brady Karp to make it a 4-1 game.
Although it was only the fourth inning, in a short seven-inning game, time was running out for Lehigh. First-year catcher Andrew Noone and junior centerfielder Jake Whitlinger notched RBIs with a bases loaded hit-by-pitch and sacrifice fly respectively to help the Mountain Hawks get back in the game.
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth and now trailing just 4-3, first-year left-fielder Braydon Hubbard flipped the game upside down giving Lehigh a 5-4 lead with a single that Leary described as the biggest hit of the game. The timely hits that were hard to find in Lehigh’s last four games were finally starting to come.
Another RBI single by Perich and Ermigiotti’s performance on the mound allowed Lehigh to hold and win Game 1, 6-4.
Lehigh third baseman Sam Holtz, right, and shortstop Tyler Young get into position during a game against Bucknell on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at J. David Walker Field. Lehigh swept the doubleheader. (Alec Eskin/B&W Staff)
Perich tallied two hits, two walks and two RBIs in Game 1. His 27 walks are tied for third most in the Patriot League.
“I mean, these last few weeks in Patriot League play, I’ve found out that a lot of pitchers pitch around me,” Perich said. “By seeing as many pitches as possible and getting on base, you’re giving us the best opportunity to win.”
Game 2: Lehigh 6, Bucknell 5
The Mountain Hawks wasted no time with their bats in Game 2. Lehigh jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to RBIs from sophomore designated hitter Trystan Crawford and senior shortstop Tyler Young.
Lehigh’s lead was short lived after a wild inning where Bucknell tallied four runs.
It started with an RBI double from Bucknell junior second baseman Billy Kender to make the score 2-1. Then junior third baseman Sean Keys crushed a towering three-run home run to right field. Keys emphatically tossed his bat and screamed towards the Bucknell dugout, earning a warning from the home plate umpire in the process.
Lehigh junior starting pitcher Najir Glenn hit the very next batter, throwing the Bucknell dugout into outrage. While Bucknell may have felt wronged by Glenn, Game 2 featured five batters hit by pitches.
The Mountain Hawks quickly responded in the bottom of the third inning. Junior right fielder Andrew Kohl, who hit his sixth home run of the season in Saturday’s doubleheader, drove in Young and Perich with a single to tie the game at four.
Lehigh regained the lead in the fourth inning. With two outs and runners on second and third, junior first baseman Austin Butler hit a soft ground ball to third driving in Whitlinger before a Tyler Dunn fielding error allowed Perich to come in behind him, giving Lehigh a 6-4 lead.
The 12 runs in Sunday’s doubleheader was more than Lehigh’s run total in their last five games combined.
“We’re just picking each other up,” Perich said. “We haven’t been hitting well, but we’ve just got to come through when it matters and have each other’s backs.”
The Bison made it a one-run game at 6-5 in the fifth inning on sophomore designated hitter Michael Trommer’s solo home run to left field — his first of the season.
Lehigh junior infielder Justin Butler slides into third base ahead of Bucknell third baseman Sean Keys during a game Sunday, April 7, 2024, at Legacy Park. Lehigh swept the doubleheader. (Amanda Rowan/B&W Staff)
The scoring slowed in the later innings, but that seemingly was about to change when Bucknell loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh inning.
Lehigh sophomore pitcher David Andolina got himself into the shaky situation and batter by batter got himself out of the jam. Andolina recorded a strike out, foul out and ground out to preserve the lead.
Andolina used that momentum to shut down Bucknell again in the eighth and ninth innings, only allowing one base runner in the last two innings.
Despite the sweep, Perich thinks there’s room for growth offensively.
“The offense still has some work to do, and we’re going to figure it out real quick,” Perich said. “These two wins are very helpful, and we’re going to gain a lot of confidence from it. This is just the beginning.”
Lehigh returns to action Tuesday for a non-conference game against Rider University at Sonny Pittaro Field.
Lehigh inflelders and pitching coach Pat Knight meet on the mound during a game against Bucknell on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at J. David Walker Field. Lehigh swept the doubleheader. (Alec Eskin/B&W Staff)
Lehigh’s Trystan Crawford (6) high fives Jake Whitlinger after scoring a run in a game against Bucknell on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at J. David Walker Field. Lehigh swept the doubleheader. (Alec Eskin/B&W Staff)
Lehigh sophomore reliever Brandon Coughlin pitches during Game 2 of a doubleheader against Bucknell on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at Legacy Park. Lehigh swept the doubleheader. (Amanda Rowan/B&W Staff)
Lehigh junior starter Najir Glenn pitches during a game against Bucknell on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at Legacy Park. Lehigh swept the doubleheader. (Amanda Rowan/B&W staff)
Lehigh pitcher Tommy Lamar, left, bear hugs teammate Shane O’Neil before the second game of a doubleheader against Bucknell on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at J. David Walker Field. Lehigh swept the doubleheader. (Alec Eskin/B&W Staff)
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