Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Softball Picked To Finish Fifth in Preseason Patriot League Poll
2/19/2004 7:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 19, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell tallied 19 points to finish fifth in a preseason poll of Patriot League coaches and sports information directors' for the 2004 softball season. The Bison finished the 2003 season with an 11-33 overall record and a conference mark of 6-14.
Colgate, the defending Patriot League champion, was picked by five voters as the preseason favorite. The Raiders finished on top of the pack with 45 points in this year's preseason voting.
Lehigh, the five-time defending regular-season champion, finished a close second with an identical five first-place votes and a total of 43 points.
Army, which received the final two first-place votes, racked up 38 points for third place in the preseason vote. Holy Cross was the coaches and SID's pick to finish fourth in the six-team league, received 25 points.
Rounding out the pre-season poll were Bucknell and Lafayette (10 pts.), finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.
 Sophomore Kris Devore joins Lauren Wible as Bucknell's returning all-league players for 2004.  |
|
The Bison return two all-league players from a year ago in sophomore first baseman Lauren Wible (Dover, Pa./Dover) and classmate Kris Devore (Washington, Pa./Trinity). The Orange and Blue bring back a wealth of experience with eight starters returning from last season's squad.
Bucknell opens its season on Saturday, March 6, when it travels to Delaware for a doubleheader with the Blue Hens. The team then heads to Florida for its annual spring break trip to the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, March 15-20. The Bison spend their first 15 game dates away from Lewisburg, before opening the home ledger with Colgate on April 3.
| 2004 Patriot League Softball Preseason Poll | |||
| Place | School (# first place votes) | 2003 Overall Record | 2003 PL Record |
| 1. | Colgate (five first-place votes), 45 pts. | 29-15 | 15-5 |
| 2. | Lehigh, (five first-place votes), 43 pts. | 39-10 | 19-1 |
| 3. | Army (two first-place votes), 38 pts. | 20-27 | 9-11 |
| 4. | Holy Cross, 25 pts. | 15-28 | 10-10 |
| 5. | Bucknell, 19 pts. | 11-33 | 6-14 |
| 6. | Lafayette, 10 pts. | 5-31 | 1-19 |
The 2004 Patriot League Championship will be held May 1-2 at the site of the highest seed.
