Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Holy Cross*
Bucknell Softball Sweeps Doubleheader From Holy Cross by 8-5 and 4-1 Scores
4/29/2007 8:00:00 AM | Softball
April 29, 2007
Bucknell vs. Holy Cross Game 1 Box Score (W, 8-5)
Bucknell vs. Holy Cross Game 2 Box Score (W, 4-1)
WORCESTER, Mass. - Erin Curatola (River Edge, N.J./River Dell) went 6-for-8 with three runs batted in, including a 4-for-4 performance in game one, to help the Bucknell softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Holy Cross Sunday at Freshman Field. The Bison scored six runs in the first inning of game one on their way to an 8-5 victory. They scored single runs in the first two innings of game two for a 4-1 victory behind six solid innings by Katie McDonald (York, Pa./West York Area).
Bucknell, which improved to 14-30 overall and 7-9 in the Patriot League, is still alive for the Patriot League Tournament with the sweep. The Bison will need to win at least two games in next weekend's season-ending four-game series at Colgate to tie fourth-place Army, which swept its doubleheader with Lafayette Sunday and completed its regular season 9-11 in conference play. Holy Cross wrapped up its regular season 5-39 and 2-18 in the Patriot League.
Bucknell set the tone for the doubleheader with six runs in the first inning of game one as it capitalized on four errors by the Crusaders, who had five total in the game. Those six runs were all the Bison would need, but they tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Curatola, who had four singles in the contest, drove in Ashley Carlson (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) with a two-out single in the fourth. Lauren Litts (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg) belted her team-high third home run of the season, and the 19th of her career, with one out in the fifth.
Sheena Stangler, who led the Crusaders with a team-best 5.25 ERA entering the game, fell to 2-11 as she hurled her sixth complete game of the season. She gave up all eight runs, although just four were earned. The Bucknell offense, which featured multiple-hit games from Curatola, Carlson and Litts, touched her for 11 hits and struck out just three times.
Christie Wiest (Centre Hall, Pa./Penns Valley) failed to pitch as well as she did Saturday when she registered a three-hit shutout, but was strong enough to pick up her career-high eighth win of the season. She now has 19 in her career, one shy of seventh place on the program's career ledger. Wiest yielded 10 hits and five runs in her 6.0 innings of work. She also recorded four strikeouts and walked a pair.
The Crusaders plated their runs in the third and sixth innings as Stangler helped her own cause with a two-run double in the third. Then, in the sixth inning, five straight Holy Cross batters reached base via either a single or a walk. Three of the four singles during that stretch knocked in single runs.
With Holy Cross batting around against Wiest in the sixth, Meaghan Haley (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley) replaced her in the seventh and retired three of the four hitters she faced to pick up her first career save.
The Bucknell offense stayed hot early in the second game with single runs in the first two innings. Curatola, who later knocked in a run with a single in the fourth, smashed an RBI double in the first to stake the Bison to an early 1-0 lead.
Kristin Frick (West Chester, Pa./Bishop Shanahan), who was 2-for-4 in the game, registered an RBI single in the second to put the Bison up 2-0.
For the second straight game six of Bucknell's nine starters tallied hits with Curatola, Frick and Alyssa Okita (Davis, Calif./Davis) each tallying two of the nine the team posted.
McDonald had her second strong outing of the weekend as she yielded just six hits and struck out two in her six innings of work. She improved to 4-5 and saw her ERA drop to 4.75, its lowest figure since March 10.
Haley again pitched the seventh inning and picked up another save after the Crusaders touched McDonald for four hits and one run in the sixth inning.
Lindsey MacNeil was shouldered with the loss for Holy Cross and fell to 2-5 on the season.
Bucknell will step out of Patriot League play on Tuesday when it hosts Delaware in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. It will be the final home date of 2007 for the Bison.
