Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
St. Francis (PA)
Bucknell Softball Earns Doubleheader Split with Saint Francis (Pa.)
3/27/2006 7:00:00 AM | Softball
March 27, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After falling in the first game 12-2 in five innings, the Bucknell softball team rebounded in the second with a 7-4 victory behind strong pitching from Meaghan Haley (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley) and a three-run seventh inning to earn a split of a doubleheader with Saint Francis (Pa.) Monday at the West Fields. Lauren Wible (Dover, Pa./Dover) led the way in the second game with two hits and three runs batted in, including a two-run double that put the Bison ahead for good in the top of the seventh.
The twinbill was originally slated to be played Tuesday in Loretto, Pa., but was moved to Lewisburg due to unplayable field conditions. The Red Flash remained the home team for both contests.
Bucknell (6-18) jumped on Saint Francis (11-15) starter Janelle McCoy with five hits in the first inning of the nightcap to take an early 4-0 lead. Jennifer James (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) led off the game with a single and moved to second on Monica Grinage's (Braddock, Pa./Shady Side) sacrifice bunt. Wible knocked James in with the first of her two hits. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Wible was brought home by a deep double to right-center by Lauren Litts (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg). Litts later scored on a single up the middle by Kristin Frick (West Chester, Pa./Bishop Shanahan), who was 3-for-6 in the doubleheader. Meghan Feller (Willoughby Hills, Ohio/Notre Dame) was the fourth Bison to cross the plate in the inning when she scored on a throwing error by second baseman Kelly Slingwine on a ball hit by Erin Curatola (River Edge, N.J./River Dell).
Laura Caldwell (4-6) relieved McCoy to start the second inning and did not face more than four Bucknell hitters in an inning until the seventh.
Bison starter Meaghan Haley kept Saint Francis in check during her five innings of work. She allowed just one hit through the first four innings, and just three overall, while walking one, striking out two and allowing just one run. Haley left the game with Bucknell holding a 4-1 lead.
Meg Muirhead (3-6) (Glendale, Calif./Flintridge Academy) opened the sixth by allowing Kara Stroup to reach on a single. She then got the next batter to ground out before yielding another single. Following a strikeout, Muirhead faced Nicole Bender with two on and two out. Bender, who had led off the fifth inning with a double, hit a towering home run over the left-field fence to tie the score.
The score did not remain tied for long as the first three hitters in the seventh inning all scored runs for Bucknell. James walked to lead off the rally. Ashley Carlson (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) reached on a throwing error by Caldwell to bring Wible to the plate with runners on second and third and none out. Wible hit a deep line drive over the centerfielder's head to drive in a pair of runs. Litts followed with a long single to bring Wible home.
Muirhead settled down in the bottom of the seventh and retired three of the four hitters she faced to pick up her third win of the season.
Bucknell pounded out 12 hits in the nightcap with Wible and Feller getting two apiece and Litts connecting for three. Wible tallied three runs batted in to move into the team lead with 16 this season. Litts had two to bring her season total to 15, good for second on the squad. Bender led Saint Francis with two hits in the second game as the Red Flash had just six.
In the opener, the Bison took a 2-1 lead in the top of the second when Emily Orazi (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) powered a long single off the fence in left field to drive home two runners. However, Bucknell would register just five hits in the game, and only one after the second inning as Saint Francis plated seven runs in the bottom of the second. Frick, who had a double and a triple, and Grinage, who had a pair of singles, led the way with multiple-hit contests.
Angela Rocco (5-3) settled down after allowing four hits in the first two innings and pitched a complete game for the Red Flash. She yielded just one walk and struck out four.
Tanya Roth (0-4) (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes) started for the Bison and lasted 1.1 innings before being relieved by Christie Wiest (Centre Hall, Pa./Penns Valley) in the middle of the seven-run second inning. The big blow in the inning, which saw 11 hitters come to the plate, was a two-run triple by Kate Lancaster that Bucknell right fielder Feller lost in the sun.
Saint Francis tacked on three more runs in the third inning off Wiest. With two outs, the Red Flash hit four consecutive singles to score those three runs. They added one more run in the fourth when Jordanna Rigga doubled and was later knocked in by Katie MacDonald with a two-out single.
All but one of the Saint Francis starters registered a hit in the first game, and six had two hits, as the Red Flash totaled 14 off Roth and Wiest.
Bucknell opens Patriot League play this weekend when it hosts Colgate. The Bison and Raiders will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's twinbill starts at 1 p.m., while Sunday's first pitch is 12 p.m.
