BETHLEHEM, Pa. – No. 2 Bucknell advanced to the Patriot League Baseball Championship Series with a two-game sweep over No. 3 Navy during the first day of play in the 2023 Patriot League Baseball Championship Semifinals.
 
No. 4 Lafayette upset top-seeded Army West Point, 7-5, in game one in West Point, N.Y. The Leopards and Black Knights will meet for games two and three, if necessary, on Sunday. Live coverage of game two will be available on ESPN+, beginning at Noon.
 
The second-seeded Bison rode a three-hit complete-game shutout from senior LHP Chris DiFiore to win game one against the Midshipmen, 2-0. Bucknell completed the sweep on a walk-off two-run single by sophomore second baseman Billy Kender in the bottom of the ninth inning to win 7-6. Head coach Scott Heather and the Bison advanced to the Patriot League Championship Series for the second-consecutive season.
 
Coverage for each game of the 2023 Patriot League Baseball Championship will be available live on ESPN+. For more information, visit CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL.
 
No. 4 Lafayette 1, at No. 1 Army West Point 0 (Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field/West Point, N.Y.)

Date	Game	Time/Result	Coverage
Saturday, May 13	Semifinals – Lafayette at Army West Point	Lafayette, 7-5	ESPN+
Sunday, May 14	Semifinals – Lafayette at Army West Point	Noon	ESPN+
Sunday, May 14	Semifinals – Lafayette at Army West Point (if necessary)	4 p.m.	ESPN+

 
At No. 2 Bucknell 2, No. 3 Navy 0 (Depew Field/Lewisburg, Pa.)

Date	Game	Time/Result	Coverage
Saturday, May 13	Semifinals – Navy at Bucknell	Bucknell, 2-0	ESPN+
Saturday, May 13	Semifinals – Navy at Bucknell	Bucknell, 7-6	ESPN+

 
2023 Patriot League Baseball Championship – Semifinal Round
AT NO. 2 BUCKNELL BISON (23-21-1, 14-11 PL) def. No. 3 NAVY MIDSHIPMEN (23-27, 14-11 PL)
DePew Field/Lewisburg, Pa.
Game 1: At No. 2 Bucknell 2, No. 3 Navy 0 |  BOX SCORE
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Senior LHP Chris DiFiore tossed a three-hit complete-game shutout to lead Bucknell to a 2-0 victory in game one of the Patriot League Baseball Championship semifinals at Depew Field.
*The senior left-hander allowed just three base runners after the second inning while striking out two and walking one for his sixth win of the season.
*Sophomore third baseman Sean Keys led the Bison offense, going 2-for-2 with a double, one RBI and a run scored. Junior left fielder Jacob Corson went 3-for-4 with a double.  
*Bucknell struck early, as junior shortstop Anthony Sherwin and Corson led off the bottom of the first inning with a pair of singles. Sherwin later crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Keys.
*In the sixth inning, Keys led off with a double and scored four batters later on a double down the right-field line by senior catcher Jake Wortman to take a 2-0 lead.
*Navy senior RHP Nate Mitchell took the loss, allowing two runs on nine hits over 6.2 innings.
 
Game 2: At No. 2 Bucknell 7, No. 3 Navy 6 | BOX SCORE
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Sophomore second baseman Billy Kender singled to drive in two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead Bucknell to a 7-6 walk-off win over Navy, completing a two-game sweep to advance to the Patriot League Championship Series.
*Kender went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, including an eighth-inning RBI single to bring the Bison within one run.
*Sherwin, junior right fielder Grant Voytovich and sophomore first baseman Tyler Dunn all had two-hit games. Corson went 1-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored, including the game-winner for the Bison.
*Bucknell sophomore LHP Nick Mulvey threw a scoreless ninth inning to earn the win.
*Navy senior DH Kyle Rausch went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Junior first baseman Logan Keller went 3-for-5, while senior right fielder Colin Smith went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.
*The Bison took an early 2-0 lead when Keys doubled to drive in Voytovich. Dunn followed with a single to drive in Keys in the first inning.
*Two innings later, Voytovich singled to drive on Corson to extend the lead to 3-0.
*Navy’s Rausch put the Mids on the scoreboard for the first time of the day, hitting a two-run home run to left field in the fourth inning. Freshman third baseman Brock Murtha tied the score with an RBI double three batters later.
*Voytovich responded with his second RBI single of the game in the bottom of the fourth, but the Mids tied the score at four when Keller crossed the plate in the sixth inning.
*The Mids took a 6-4 lead, their first lead of the series, with two runs in the top of the eighth inning.
*Kender drove in the final three runs with singles in the eighth and ninth innings to send the Bison to the League Championship Series for the second straight season.
RECAPS: NAVY | BUCKNELL
 
NO. 4 LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (15-35, 10-15 PL) 7, AT NO. 1 ARMY WEST POINT BLACK KNIGHTS (34-16, 21-4 PL) 5
Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field/West Point, N.Y.
BOX SCORE
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Lafayette’s Michael Zarrillo, Seif Ingram and Ben Petrone drove in two runs apiece to lead the No. 4 Leopards to a 7-5 victory over top-seeded Army West Point in game one of the Patriot League Baseball Championship semifinals.
*Petrone went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run. Zarrillo and Ingram each added two-run shots of their own for the Leopards.
*Senior RHP Alex Walsh earned the win, allowing three runs on five hits over 5.2 innings. Freshman RHP Luke Craytor was awarded the save after allowing two runs, one earned, in 3.1 innings pitched.
*Army West Point sophomore DH Coleson Titus led the Black Knights’ offense going 3-for-5 with two solo home runs and three runs scored.
*Army West Point junior RHP Matthew Ronnebaum was charged with the loss, allowing seven runs on eight hits over 5.2 innings.
*The Leopards scored first, as Ingram hit a two-run home run over the wall in left field to take a 2-0 lead.
*The Black Knights responded, with Titus and freshman right fielder Ethan Ellis hitting back-to-back home runs to tie the score at two.
*Lafayette took a 5-2 lead in the top of the third inning, as Ciuffreda drove in a run with a double to left field before Zarrillo hit a two-run home run to right.
*Petrone extended the lead to 7-2 with a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
*Army scored three more runs, including Titus’s second solo homer of the game in the sixth inning. He scored as part of the Black Knights’ two-run eighth inning before they stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning in a game-one loss.
RECAPS: LAFAYETTE | ARMY WEST POINT
 
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