Bucknell University Athletics
Six Bison Earn All-Patriot League Softball Honors
5/6/2008 8:00:00 AM | Softball
May 6, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Six members of the Bucknell softball team earned All-Patriot League honors, announced Tuesday by the league office. Four Bison earned first-team accolades, while two others earned second-team plaudits, giving Bucknell its most all-league players since 1998.
Freshmen Elyse Colmenero (Fresno, Calif./Central) and Lauren Fry (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), junior Cassie Lloyd Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) and senior Christie Wiest (Centre Hall, Pa./Penns Valley) were the quartet of the Bison on the first team, while senior Erin Curatola (River Edge, N.J./River Dell) and sophomore Mary Pavlovich (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) were the second-team selections. It was the first All-Patriot League honor for each of the six players honored.
The four first-team all-league choices led the league, while the six players that showed up on the two all-league squads equaled Lafayette for the most in the conference. The last time Bucknell had as many as six players honored in the all-league voting was 1998. The only times the Bison have had at least four first-team choices were 1991 and 1993 when they had five.
Colmenero and Fry were the only two freshmen to show up on the first team and they are the first Bison to earn first-team all-league honors since Jenna Demetriades in 1999. Colmenero hit a league-best .468 during Patriot League regular-season play and finished the season third on the squad with a .328 overall average. She concluded the regular season on an eight-game hitting streak and hit in 23 of her last 25 games. During that hot streak she hit a solid .434.
Colmenero, who was the starting catcher most of the season, hit two home runs, drove in 20 runs and tied Fry for the most doubles on the team with 10. The right-handed hitter posted nine multiple-hit games and one four-hit outing. She also wrapped up the regular season with at least one RBI in three consecutive games.
Fry had an impressive rookie campaign as well, hitting .343 with two home runs and 30 runs batted in. The 30 RBIs are the most by a Bison freshman since Demetriades drove in 31 nearly a decade ago. Fry ranks second on the team in that category as well as hitting.
A talented left-handed leftfielder, Fry settled into the No. 3 hole in the lineup and pounded out 46 hits and scored a team-best 32 runs during the regular season. She posted a team-best 13 multiple-hit games and accumulated seven multiple-RBI outings. She had 10 RBIs over the season's final five games, and 13 over the final eight.
Lloyd, a native of nearby Mifflinburg, provided Bucknell power from the first base position while hitting a career-best .297. She smashed a team-best five home runs to tie for sixth in the Patriot League. That figure ranks tied for sixth on the program's single-season list, while Lloyd's seven career round-trippers are seventh on the career ledger.
Lloyd closed out the season going 5-for-11 with two runs and four runs batted in during a four-game weekend series with Holy Cross. She tied for third on the team with a career-high 20 runs batted in and made just two errors at first base for a .989 fielding percentage.
After being Bucknell's No. 1 pitcher throughout her career, Wiest blossomed into an all-league pitcher this season when she posted a solid 12-12 record with a career-best 2.32 ERA. She is among the top five pitchers in the Patriot League in wins (12), innings (165.2), strikeouts (96), appearances (29), games started (26), complete games (21), shutouts (4) and opponents batting average (.265).
Wiest, who enters the postseason with a scoreless streak of 14.2 innings, is first on Bucknell's career games list (114), first in games started (91), tied for first in career saves (3), first in career innings (544.2), first in career strikeouts (354), fourth in career shutouts (9) and fifth in career wins (32).
Wiest has won each of her last four decisions and was 7-2 against Patriot League competition in 2008. Her ERA has been below 3.00 throughout the year and her 2.55 ERA following a complete-game victory over Army last month was her highest of the season.
Curatola earned her second-team citation by having a solid senior campaign at the designated player position. She hit .299 during the regular season and drove in a career-high 32 runs to rank first on the team and sixth on the Bucknell single-season list. Her career RBI total of 70 is tied for 10th all-time.
A right-handed hitting team co-captain, Curatola ended the season on a four-game hitting streak, and had hits in 10 of her final 11 games. Her 12 multiple-hit outings and six multiple-RBI games both rank second on the team.
Pavlovich was one of just three sophomores to be honored by the Patriot League following a regular season in which she hit .305 with two home runs and 20 runs batted in. A starter in 45 games, primarily at third base, Pavlovich scored 26 runs to rank second on the team and she also had four doubles and one triple.
The switch-hitter drew 19 walks to push her on-base percentage to .407, while she posted a .964 fielding percentage after committing just five errors at the hot corner.
Bucknell (22-27) will be in action later this week when it competes in its first Patriot League Tournament since 2005. The Bison, who are seeded third in the four-team field after a 13-7 league mark, will face No. 2 Lafayette in their first game at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The Patriot League Softball Tournament is a three-day, double-elimination event and Bucknell's only title came in 1997.
Bucknell's 2008 Patriot League Softball All-League Team Members
First Team
Elyse Colmenero - Fr., C
Lauren Fry - Fr., OF
Cassie Lloyd - Jr., 1B
Christie Wiest - Sr., P
Second Team
Erin Curatola - Sr., DP
Mary Pavlovich - Jr., 3B
