Four Bucknell Softball Players Earn All-Patriot League Honors

May 10, 2006

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Junior Lauren Litts (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg) and senior Lauren Wible (Dover, Pa./Dover) headlined the list of four Bucknell softball players named to the All-Patriot League Team Wednesday. Both upperclassmen earned first-team accolades. Junior Jennifer James (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) and freshman Ashley Beans (Hanover, Pa./Hanover) were cited with second-team selections to give the Bison a quartet of players on the all-league teams for the first time since 2001.

Litts, who was second on the team in hitting with a career-high .347 batting average, made her first appearance on the all-league squad. A powerful right-handed hitter, Litts tied Wible's Bucknell single-season record with eight home runs this year and also tied current assistant coach Angie Stackhouse's program record with 35 runs batted in. Litts' 14 doubles this year equaled the second most in school history, while her 52 hits tied Kris Devore for the most on the team and for sixth in Bison annals.

In addition to her single-season accomplishments, Litts, who set new career highs in batting average, at bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs and RBI this year, climbed onto the career top-10 lists in doubles, home runs and RBI. Her 16 career round trippers are second in program history, while she ranks third with 33 doubles and eighth with 74 RBI.

Litts, who split time between designated player and catcher, was among the Patriot League leaders in a number of categories, including total bases, which she led the conference in with 94. She ranked second in the league in hits, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage. Additionally, she finished the season third in the PL in doubles and ninth in batting average.

Lauren Wible was named First Team All-Patriot League.

Wible, the 2005 Patriot League Player of the Year, earned her fourth consecutive all-league citation with her second straight first-team award. The nation's leading hitter with a .524 batting average in 2005, Wible was third on the team with a .297 average this year. She also contributed three home runs and 26 runs batted in, second on the team.

The only Bison to play in all 52 games this year, Wible led the team with 20 runs scored and was third with 44 hits. Her nine doubles ranked fourth on the squad, while her 14 walks led the team and brought her career total to 70. She was among the Patriot League leaders in both hitting (17th) and RBI (7th).

Wible, a first baseman, ended her career with 145 consecutive starts and is among the all-time leaders on many of the program's all-time lists. She owns the career record for home runs with 17 and RBI with 96, while her 170 career games played and 40 career doubles rank second. With 167 career hits Wible is fourth on that list, while her .351 career batting average is fifth. She scored 73 runs in her career to tie for sixth place on that list.

Jennifer James was named Second Team All-Patriot League.

James, who was a team co-captain along with the trio of seniors on the squad, earned her first all-league citation. She hit .232 with 29 hits to tie for fourth on the team, while her career-high 12 doubles placed her third. The second baseman was fifth on the team with a career-high eight runs batted in, and drew 13 walks while often hitting near the top of the lineup.

James made just seven errors in 166 chances for a solid .958 fielding percentage as she completed her third consecutive year as a regular by drawing 42 starting assignments.

Beans, Bucknell's first rookie on the all-league teams since Wible and Devore in 2003, hit .243 and scored 10 runs this season. She recorded 27 hits, many of which did not leave the infield as she used her speed to cause havoc on the base paths. Fourth on the team with 46 starts, all in the outfield, Beans stole seven bases to rank second on the squad and sixth in the Patriot League.

Ashley Beans was named Second Team All-Patriot League.

Named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on April 25 after going 10-for-26 in eight games the previous week, Beans tallied the first four-hit game of her career in April against Holy Cross.

Lehigh, which is the host and top seed in this weekend's Patriot League Tournament, headlined the All-Patriot League Team with seven selections, including five first-teamers. Army was second with six athletes cited, while Colgate had five. Lafayette and Holy Cross had two selections each.

LaPorscha Albert of Colgate was named the Player of the Year, while teammate Ashley Rowe earned Rookie of the Year honors. Lehigh's Lisa Sweeney, just a freshman, was honored as the Pitcher of the Year. First-year Lafayette coach Jeanine Gunther was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Leopards to a second-place finish after being picked fifth in the league's preseason poll.

Bucknell finished the 2006 season with a 15-37 record and missed qualifying for the Patriot League Tournament by just one game.

Bucknell's Patriot League Softball All-League Selections
First Team
Lauren Litts - DP
Lauren Wible - 1B

Second Team
Jennifer James - 2B
Ashley Beans - OF

Bucknell University Athletics

Four Bucknell Softball Players Earn All-Patriot League Honors

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