MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's baseball team split a doubleheader with Bucknell on Saturday, dropping a low-scoring affair in the opener before invoking the run rule in the nightcap.
 
GAME 1: Bucknell 2, Saint Joseph's 1
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Bucknell (5-4) took the lead with some small ball in the top of the second.  After a walk and a pair of bunt singles, Andrew Swenson hit into a fielder's choice that brought home the game's first run.  Matt Alexander then laid down a squeeze bunt to score another run and double the advantage.
 
• The Hawks answered with one in the bottom of the frame on a leadoff home run by Sam Meyer.
 
• That would be it for the offense, as neither team would light the scoreboard for the remainder of the pre-scheduled seven-inning contest.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Tyler O'Neill went the distance for Bucknell, allowing a run on six hits in seven innings.  Colton Book took the loss, allowing his first runs of the season after beginning the year on a 14-inning shutout streak; he allowed two runs on six hits while striking out six.
 
• Owen Petrich collected a pair of hits for the Hawks.
 
GAME 2: Saint Joseph's 11, Bucknell 0 (F/7)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's (3-7) took the lead in the home half of the first.  Alex Kelsey led off the game with an infield single and advanced to second on a failed pickoff.  Two batters later, he scored on a groundout by Owen Petrich to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
 
• The Hawks extended their advantage with a six-spot in the fourth.  With one out, Aidan Duda was hit by a pitch before singles from Meyer and Dean Bergmann loaded the bases.  Colin Myers then drew a walk to force home a run.
 
• Michael Pierson followed with an RBI single before Joey Gale brought home another run with a walk; after a wild pitch plated another run, Tim Dickinson hit a two-run single to make it a 7-0 game.
 
• Duda then led off the fifth with a single and went to third on a double by Meyer.  Two batters later, Myers singled home both runners for a 9-0 lead.
 
• The Hawks manufactured a pair of runs with two outs in the sixth to reach the mercy rule threshold.  Petrich reached on an error before moving to second on a balk; Duda walked to bring up Meyer, whose single scored Duda to push the lead to double digits.  After a walk to Bergmann, Myers drew a free pass of his own to force in Duda for the final run of the game.
 
• The Bison threatened to cut the deficit in the seventh, but Ethan Bowen notched a strikeout with two on and two out to end the game.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Frank Ciccone earned the win after tossing four and two-thirds shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out five.  Ben Magovern took the loss after giving up six runs on four hits and two walks in three and a third innings.
 
• Bowen and Nathan Stein combined for two and a third innings of relief to join the shutout effort.
 
• Meyer was 3-for-4 in the game and 4-for-6 on the day.  He also scored twice and drove in a run in the second game.
 
• Duda scored three times in the nightcap, while Myers racked up four RBI.
 
• Each Hawk in the starting lineup either scored or drove in a run in the rout.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks are scheduled to visit Rider on Tuesday.