LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's baseball team fell behind big early but battled back in the late innings on Saturday; unfortunately for the Crimson and Gray, the comeback effort fell just short in a 15-13 defeat to Bucknell at Depew Field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Bucknell (4-8) jumped out to an early lead with three in the bottom of the first, but the Hawks got back within a run in the third.  Alex Kelsey doubled and came in to score on a single by Jason Janesko before Janesko attempted to steal second; a pair of throwing errors then allowed Janesko to score from second and make it a 3-2 game.
 
• The Bison answered in the bottom of the inning, however, with seven runs to extend the margin to eight.
 
• Saint Joseph's (4-8) began to chip away in the sixth as Richard Beggy ripped a two-run double to score Blake Primrose and Joey Pagano, but the Bison tacked on three in the bottom of the frame to make it 13-4.
 
• The Hawks hung four on the board in the seventh.  Kelsey walked and Janesko singled to start the inning before Primrose's double plated both.  Pagano then beat out an infield single; two batters later, Beggy singled home Primrose and Pagano to make it a 13-8 game.
 
• After Bucknell scored one in the bottom of the inning, the Hawks tallied another crooked number with five in the eighth.  Singles by Janesko and Primrose put two on for Augie Maslo, who reached via an error that brought home Janesko.  Beggy followed with an RBI single before a three-run home run by Alex Venezia pulled the Hawks back to within a run at 14-13.
 
• The Bison scored a two-out insurance run in the eighth; two walks in the top of the ninth would bring the go-ahead run to the plate for the Hawks, but SJU would get no closer.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Everett Garber allowed four runs on eight hits across five and a third innings to get the win for Bucknell, while Cole Fehrman took the loss for the Hawks.  Hadley Maxwell tossed a shutout ninth for his third save of the season.
 
• The Hawks recorded a season-high 17 hits on Saturday to go with a season-high 13 runs.
 
• Beggy reached based five times, going 4-for-4 with a walk and five runs batted in.
 
• Kelsey, Primrose, and Venezia added three hits apiece; Primrose walked twice to reach base five times as well.  Janesko and Primrose each scored three times as well.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will make their third attempt at a home opener on Sunday when the teams play the rubber game at Smithson Field at 1:00 p.m.