Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Saint Francis (PA)
Bucknell Softball Swept in Doubleheader by Saint Francis (Pa.), 9-3 & 11-2
4/19/2007 8:00:00 AM | Softball
April 19, 2007
Bucknell vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) Game 1 Box Score
Bucknell vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) Game 2 Box Score
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Kara Stroup hit three home runs, including a grand slam in game two, and posted eight runs batted in as Saint Francis (Pa.) swept Bucknell in a softball doubleheader, 9-3 and 11-2, Thursday afternoon at West Fields. The second game was shortened to six innings due to darkness as well as the eight-run rule.
The Bison recorded 15 hits in the twinbill, including 10 in the first game, as three different players tallied multiple-hit games. However, Bucknell committed three errors in the two games, two of which proved costly.
Erin Curatola (River Edge, N.J./River Dell), who extended her hitting streak to seven games, Lauren Litts (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg), who had two RBIs to boost her career total to 99, and Ashley Beans (Hanover, Pa./Hanover) each posted two-hit outings in game one. Beans made it two straight for her when she went 2-for-3 in game two as she completed the doubleheader 4-for-6 with one run and one RBI.
The first game was tightly contested in the early innings as starters Meg Muirhead (Glendale, Calif./Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy) (0-3) and Laura Caldwell (9-9) repeatedly worked out of jams.
Muirhead scattered six hits over the first four innings and even worked out of a no-out, bases-loaded situation unscathed as she extended her scoreless innings streak to 11.1 innings before the Red Flash plated the first run of the game in the third on a single by Kelly Slingwine.
Bucknell (7-27) tied the score in the bottom of the frame on a sacrifice fly by Litts as it loaded the bases with just one out against Caldwell.
Saint Francis (13-25) went back ahead with a run in the top of the fifth when, with runners on first and third, Litts threw to second to get the stealing runner, but the throw was a little wild, allowing Stroup to lumber home from third.
Trailing just 2-1 entering the sixth, the Bison still had a chance to win their first game in four tries this season against the Red Flash. However, Saint Francis sent 11 hitters to the plate and scored five runs off both Muirhead and reliever Meaghan Haley. The big blow was a bases-clearing triple to left by Nicole Bender that scored three runs.
Run-scoring singles by Beans and Litts in the sixth and seventh innings chipped away at the Saint Francis lead, but a two-run home run by Stroup, her first of the day, in the top of the seventh gave the Red Flash a comfortable cushion.
Muirhead equaled her career high with six strikeouts in her 5.1 innings of work. She was touched for 11 hits and seven runs, six of which were earned. Caldwell also struck out six for Saint Francis and scattered 10 hits and walked three Bison.
Stroup opened game two with an impressive, high-arcing home run to left field that staked the Red Flash to a 2-0 first-inning lead.
The Bison tied the score in the bottom of the second when Sherry Finkel (Morgantown, W. Va./University) walked and Beans singled and both later came around to score on a single by Kristin Frick (West Chester, Pa./Bishop Shanahan). Those were the only runs Bucknell would get off Jerrica Smith (3-10), who allowed just five hits in registering her third complete game of the season.
Saint Francis batted around against Christie Wiest (Centre Hall, Pa./Penns Valley) (4-13) in the third and posted five runs as two of the first three hitters walked, and another reached on an error, loading the bases with none out and setting the stage for three consecutive hits that drove in runs from Nicole Waligora, Hilary McNelis and Ashley Harlan.
Wiest allowed just one hit over the next two innings. However, as darkness started to set in, she again loaded the bases in the sixth. Stroup then hit a high fly ball to center field that just barely cleared the wall and gave the Red Flash their 11-2 advantage.
Despite giving up 10 hits and 11 runs, just six of which were earned, Wiest struck out nine hitters, marking the second-highest total of the season for the junior.
Kelly Slingwine joined Stroup as the most productive hitters in the doubleheader for Saint Francis as she was 5-for-9 with two runs batted in and one run scored.
Bucknell will travel to West Point, N.Y., this weekend for a four-game series with Patriot League foe Army. Doubleheaders will be played both days with Saturday's first pitch slated for 4 p.m. and Sunday's 12 p.m. The series will be a key one for the Bison, who are trying to qualify for their third Patriot League Tournament in four years, as the Black Knights are directly ahead of them holding down fourth place in the conference standings.
