Patriot League Rivals Holy Cross, Bucknell Set for Friday Night Showdown

LEWISBURG, Pa. (Interstat) — A pivotal Patriot League series opens Friday evening when the Bucknell Bison host the Holy Cross Crusaders at Eugene B. Depew Field.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. under cloudy skies with temperatures around 61 degrees.

The Bison (18-12) enter with the stronger overall record, but both teams are coming off midweek games with opposite results. Holy Cross (14-16) edged Stonehill 6-5 on Wednesday, while Bucknell was routed 14-2 by Mount St. Mary’s.

The Crusaders have won four of their last five, fueled by a surging offense. A key catalyst has been Alex Sandell. The second baseman is riding a hot streak, driving in seven runs over his last four games, including a three-RBI performance in Wednesday’s win.

Bucknell will look to right-hander Ryan DeLaney to cool Holy Cross’s bats. DeLaney provided a bright spot in Wednesday’s loss, throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. His role for the series opener was not specified.

This contest begins a three-game weekend set between the conference foes. Interstat’s game simulator projects a narrow 7-6 victory for Bucknell, with its ELO rating system giving the Bison a 53% probability to win.

Holy Cross will continue its road trip with a midweek game at Brown next Tuesday. Bucknell travels to Villanova on Tuesday before a key Patriot League series at Army next weekend.