The Brown & White

The men's baseball team will face off against the Bucknell University Bison in consecutive doubleheaders for its last Patriot League games this Saturday and Sunday at Lewisburg, Pa.

The Mountain Hawks are 19-25 on the season, and 4-12 in league play.

After losing three of the last four games to Army, 13-4, 5-0 and 6-0, in two consecutive doubleheaders, senior pitcher Joe Matteo said the team is looking to end the league season on a strong note.

To win this weekend, Matteo said the team will need a strong defense and relaxed composure.

"To get out of this three game losing streak, the team must continue playing solid defense and pitching effectively," Matteo said. "We must concentrate on having quality at-bats and we must value every base runner. We have to just relax at the plate and try to have fun."

The Bison come into this weekend's game after a 2-2 series tie against the Navy Midshipmen. The team started the weekend strong, winning 4-0 and 16-6, but lost momentum in the second doubleheader, dropping to the Midshipmen 8-2 and 5-4.

Matteo said the Bison will be a competitive opponent this weekend, but the Hawks can come out victorious if they force plays.

"We can expect Bucknell to come out swinging this weekend. They have always been a good hitting team," Matteo said. "Their pitching and defense are not as strong and we must put the ball on the ground and force them to make plays."

The Bison, at third place in the Patriot League, are 20-18-2 on the season and 9-7 in league play.

The team has prepared for the game by reviewing scouting reports, and Matteo said the games against Penn State University before the weekend will be a good chance to solidify team play.

"The team is preparing for the weekend series against Bucknell like we would any other league series," he said. "We go over scouting reports and try to understand as much about the opposing team as possible prior to playing them."

The Hawks have focused primarily on batting during practice, Matteo said, hoping to bring a solid offense to this weekend's games.

"The hitters have been working on improving their ability to bunt, hit and run, and at moving runners over into scoring position," he said.

Senior center fielder Joe Ercolano and freshman infielder Brendan McGaheran will lead the Hawks' offense against the Bison.

Ercolano leads the team in runs with 33 and in hits with 50. He earned his 207th career hit against Lafayette College two weeks ago, clinching the Hawk's all-time hits record.

McGaheran is second on the team in runs with 29 and in hits with 48. He has started in 43 games this season, and has a batting average of .304.

Matteo, who is expected to lead the team on the mound with senior pitcher Andrew Grim, said the pitching will also need to be solid against the Bison.

"The pitchers are continuing to work on throwing strikes and eliminating walks," he said. "This has been a constant theme for the pitchers all season long."

Matteo is expected to be the starting pitcher for the series against Bucknell. He leads the team in wins with a record of 5-3 and has started in nine games. In last week's match-up against Army, he pitched nine strikeouts.

Grim, 3-2 on the season, has an ERA of 2.34.

Junior catcher Michael Laychur said the Hawks' pitching staff has been solid this season.

"Our pitchers have done an outstanding job this year," Laychur said. "Joe Matteo and Andrew Grim pitched great this past weekend and I think both of them will start this weekend. When you play four games in two days on Patriot League weekends the whole staff usually gets an inning or two."

To win the game, the Hawks need to score often and continue to play good defense, Laychur said.

"We've wasted too many good pitching performances this year by not scoring any runs for our pitchers," he said.

Bucknell will come into the doubleheaders with a strong offense, Laychur said, something the Hawks must watch out for.

"Bucknell has a lot of talented hitters," Laychur said. "The way they play this weekend will determine if they make the playoffs, I expect that they will be fired up. It's the last time their seniors are playing at home, that always motivates a team."

Sophomore infielder John Avanzino and senior infielders Mark Angelo and Jason Buursma will solidify the Bison's offense.

Avanzino leads the Bison in RBIs with 33 and is second on the team in home runs with nine.

Angelo leads the team in hits with 51 and is fourth in runs with 24.

Buursma leads the team in home runs with 10, is second in runs with 27 and third in hits with 43.

On the mound, senior Jason Buursma leads the Bison with five wins, 61.1 innings pitched, and 62 batters struck out.

The weekend series sets off against the Bucknell Bison in Lewisberg, Pa. on Saturday at noon, with the second game at 2:30 p.m. Sunday's games begin at noon and 2:30 p.m.