Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Softball Travels to Army for Regular-Season Conclusion
4/23/2009 8:00:00 AM | Softball
April 23, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell softball closes out its regular season this weekend with a four-game series against Army. Saturday action in West Point, N.Y., kicks off at 1 p.m., while Sunday's twin bill gets underway at 11 a.m. With the Black Knights (20-31, 7-9) currently ranked third and the Bison (15-29, 6-10) in a tie for fourth, both teams are battling for the remaining two berths in the Patriot League Tournament.
The Orange and Blue are 26-36 all-time against Army. Bucknell took three of four games off the Black Knights last season, including a 7-0 victory in the series finale. Katie McDonald (York, Pa./West York Area) recorded her first career shutout in the contest, while Lauren Fry (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) drove in a career-high five runs.
ABOUT THE BISON
- Bucknell's two-game set with Susquehanna on Thursday was canceled due to a scheduling conflict for the Crusaders. The series was supposed to be the Bison's home finale. Bucknell was 6-8 on its home field this season.
- Bucknell finished an exciting series with the Patriot League's top-ranked team in Lehigh by posting a 2-2 record against the Mountain Hawks last weekend. By splitting each of the doubleheaders, the Bison became the league's second team this season to take a win off Lehigh and only the first league squad to do it twice. Jane Messersmith (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) earned the pitching victories on both days, shutting out Lehigh 9-0 in five innings on Saturday and closing the weekend with a 3-1 win on Sunday.
- Messersmith was named the Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday following her 2-0 performance against Lehigh. The freshman finished the weekend with a 0.00 ERA while holding the Mountain Hawks to a .095 batting average. - Cassie Lloyd (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) continues to lead the Patriot League in batting average. Through the first 16 games of league action, the senior co-captain is hitting .489 (22-for-45). Her 22 hits also tie her for the league lead. Lloyd leads the Bison in overall batting average at .343 (37-for-108).
- Ashley Beans (Hanover, Pa./Hanover) and Alison Ford (Suison, Calif./Fairfield) each drilled home runs to lead off the scoring in the 9-0 shutout against Lehigh last Saturday. The two shots pushed the 2009 squad into first place on the single-season list for team homers. With 24 on the season, the current team bettered the previous record of 22 set last year.
- After a disappointing run at Colgate two weeks ago, the Orange and Blue improved their fortunes in a big way when they took on Lehigh. Pitching proved to be the difference, as Bucknell posted a team ERA of 11.77 against the Raiders. The squad then brought its ERA down to 3.21 against the Mountain Hawks.
- The Bison must produce in their final league series in order to punch their ticket for a second consecutive Patriot League Tournament. The squad, which trails third-place Army and is in a fourth-place tie with Holy Cross, is fighting for one of the final two spots in the championship series. Lehigh and Colgate have already clinched tournament berths. The four teams atop the league standings advance to the tournament.
ABOUT THE BLACK KNIGHTS
- Army is 20-31 overall and 7-9 in the Patriot League this year after being swept by Delaware in its last outing. Last weekend the Black Knights split their four-game series with Colgate in West Point, taking one win each day.
- Alexis AuBuchon, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week, is leading the Black Knights in batting this season at .362 (51-for-141). The freshman also has 10 doubles and a squad-high three home runs. Teammate Erin McClain is Army's only other player hitting better than .300. The junior is batting .326 (45-for-138) with a team-leading 11 doubles. Jessi Muckelroy leads the team in the circle with 10 wins and a 3.27 ERA. Shawna Bleyl is second on the depth chart with seven wins and an ERA of 3.82. The duo has combined for 128 strikeouts.
- The Black Knights finished fourth in the Patriot League last season and were knocked out of the league's tournament by Lafayette for the second consecutive year.
UP NEXT
The series with Army marks the end of the regular season for Bucknell. Should the Bison finish in the top four in the Patriot League, their season will continue May 7-9 at the Patriot League Tournament to be played at the site of the highest seed.
