Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Lauren Wible Named Patriot League Softball Scholar-Athlete
6/27/2005 8:00:00 AM | Softball
June 27, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell junior first baseman Lauren Wible, who led the nation in hitting with a .524 batting average, was announced Monday as the winner of the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for softball. Wible's selection is the sixth for a Bison student-athlete this year and ups Bucknell's all-time total to 100 Scholar-Athletes in 15 years in the league.
Wible, who carries a 3.76 cumulative grade-point average in English, is the fifth Bison softball player to earn Patriot League Scholar-Athlete honors and the first since Lauren Titus in 2002.
This award is just the latest in a long line of honors for Wible who became the 13th Bucknell softball player to earn Academic All-America recognition earlier this month. She was also a member of the All-Mid Atlantic Region First Team and was named the Patriot League Player of the Year while showing up on the all-league first team.
The Dover, Pa., native ended the season with a 16-game hitting streak intact and set the Bucknell and Patriot League record her robust .524 batting average, which is the 11th-best in NCAA Division I history.
In addition to her batting average, Wible ranked nationally in a number of other offensive categories. She finished her junior campaign second in doubles per game (0.39), third in slugging percentage (.903) and 21st in walks per game (0.63). As a team, Bucknell was 11th nationally in doubles per game with 1.53 per contest.
A three-time All-Patriot League selection, Wible, who was a co-captain for the second consecutive season in 2005, was the only Bucknell player to play in and start all 38 games last year. She led the team in nearly every offensive category, and with a solo home run against Army in the Patriot League Tournament, extended her own Bucknell single-season record to eight home runs. She also has 14 in her career, which is best in Bucknell history.
Wible paced the team with 31 runs batted in and broke the Bucknell single-season standard for doubles by collecting 15. She fell just three total bases short of equaling Jenny Snyder's season record of 96. Wible also had at least one hit in 34 of 38 games, including 34 of her last 36, and 27 of her last 28. After going 0-for-7 in her first two games, Wible ended the season on a 54-for-96 (.563) tear.
Along with her offensive prowess, which saw her raise her career average from .305 to .374 this year, Wible had another excellent defensive season. The left-hander committed just three errors in 340 chances for a .991 fielding percentage. She did not commit an error over her final 11 games of the season and has just 12 in her three-year career.
Off the field, the English major owns a 3.76 cumulative GPA and has been a Dean's List member every semester of her college career. An NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete in 2003-04 and the winner of the Charles F. White Memorial Prize for Scholar-Athletes, Wible has been a regular on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, including the 2005 spring semester when she posted a 3.83 GPA. A two-year resident assistant, she is also a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society.
Wible joins Melanie Buczko (women's track and field), Adam Freeman (men's swimming and diving), Rebecca Scheffter (women's swimming and diving), Chris McNaughton (men's basketball) and Jonathan Hemmert (men's soccer) as Bison to be named Scholar-Athletes in 2004-05. To be eligible for the award a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and be a starter or key player in his/her sports. Freshmen are not eligible for the award.
Bucknell posted a 16-22 overall record in 2005, its highest win total since winning 19 games in 2001. The Bison finished 8-10 in Patriot League play and qualified for the Patriot League Tournament for the second consecutive season as the fourth seed.
