Bucknell University
Lehigh
Bucknell Softball Swept in Doubleheader by Lehigh, 6-1 & 7-2
4/13/2007 8:00:00 AM | Softball
April 13, 2007
Bucknell vs. Lehigh Game 1 Box Score
Bucknell vs. Lehigh Game 2 Box Score
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell's Christie Wiest (Centre Hall, Pa./Penns Valley) brought a no-hitter into the fourth inning of game one and Sherry Finkel (Morgantown, W. Va./University) picked up a pair of hits in game two, but the Bucknell softball team was swept in a doubleheader by Lehigh, 6-1 and 7-2, Friday afternoon at a cold and windy West Fields. The Bison totaled 12 hits in the twinbill, but committed three errors in each game.
Wiest (4-11) notched her ninth complete game of the season as she matched the Mountain Hawks' Lisa Sweeney (12-4) as each brought no-hitters into the fourth inning of game one. One out into the fourth, Lehigh finally got to Wiest as Julie Sterrett hit a double to left that barely eluded the glove of Ashley Carlson (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury). Mendy Martin followed with an RBI single and later scored on a deep home run to left field by Sweeney, who was 2-for-2 with three runs batted in and one run scored.
Wiest settled down and retired the side in order in the fifth, but Lehigh plated one more run in the sixth and a pair of insurance runs in the seventh thanks to a one-out triple by Whitney Lowe.
After failing to pick up a hit in the first four innings of play, Bucknell got to Sweeney in the fifth when Alyssa Okita (Davis, Calif./Davis) led off the frame with a single. Cassie Lloyd (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) bunted her to second and Ashley Beans (Hanover, Pa./Hanover) brought her home with a single through the hole between first and second. Back-to-back two-out singles by Carlson and Erin Curatola (River Edge, N.J./River Dell) loaded the bases, but Sweeney recorded the ninth of her 11 strikeouts to end the inning and preserve a 3-1 Lehigh advantage.
Wiest yielded seven hits, six runs, five of which were earned, three walks and struck out three. Sweeney also hurled a complete game and gave up five hits, walked one and Bucknell scored just the one run against her.
After the pitchers' duel in the first game, Lehigh plated three runs in the first three innings of game two with a booming two-run home run to left field by Lauren Haney in the first inning the big blow.
Bucknell plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the score to 3-2. Okita and Kristin Frick (West Chester, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) registered RBI singles to score Curatola and Finkel, both of whom had singled earlier in the frame. The Bison tallied four of their seven hits in the game in the fourth inning.
Following that fourth inning, Lehigh starter Tiffany Curtis (7-7) held Bucknell to just one baserunner with that being a one-out walk to Frick in the seventh.
The Bison's three errors in the second game proved costly as just two of Lehigh's seven runs were earned. Meaghan Haley (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley) pitched the first five innings, but just one of the six runs she yielded was earned. She did scatter nine hits, walked two and struck out one. Katie McDonald (York, Pa./West York Area) allowed just two hits and one run in her two innings of work.
Finkel, who played left field in game two despite the swirling winds and spending the majority of her time at second base recently, led Bucknell with a pair of hits.
With one hit in each game Friday, Okita extended her current hitting streak to five games, the longest on the team. Curatola has a three-game streak intact as well.
Haney ended up 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored in the second game. She now has a team-high 31 RBI this season thanks to four total in the doubleheader.
With the loss, the Bison fell to 7-23 overall and 1-5 in Patriot League play. Lehigh, which stands second in the conference standings to undefeated Colgate, improved to 22-15-1 overall and 9-1 in the Patriot League.
The same two teams will square off in another doubleheader Saturday at 12 p.m. Senior Day will be celebrated before the game, while in between contests, the 1997 Patriot League Championship team will be honored on the 10-year anniversary of the accomplishment.
