March 15, 2010
- Live Stats - vs. Harvard (5 p.m., Tuesday, March 16)
- Live Stats - vs. Utah Valley (11 a.m., Thursday, March 18)
- Live Stats - at Loyola Marymount (3 p.m., Thursday, March 18)
- Live Stats - vs. North Dakota (1 p.m., Friday, March 19)
- Live Stats - at Loyola Marymount (5 p.m., Friday, March 19)
- Live Stats - vs. Utah Valley (11 a.m., Saturday, March 20)
- Live Stats - vs. North Dakota (3 p.m., Saturday, March 20)
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell softball resumes play in California after a water-logged weekend back east to face Harvard at 5 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. Following the single game against the Crimson, the Bison (2-2) will join Loyola Marymount, Utah Valley and North Dakota at the Lions' Smith Field for the Crowne Plaza LAX Showcase March 18-20. Live stats for the three-day tournament will be available at BucknellBison.com.
Bucknell kicks off its six-game tournament with Utah Valley (11 a.m.) and Loyola Marymount (3 p.m.) on Thursday. Games with North Dakota (1 p.m.) and Loyola Marymount (5 p.m.) follow on Friday, and Utah Valley (11 a.m.) and North Dakota (3 p.m.) wrap up action on Saturday. All times are Eastern.
ABOUT THE BISON
Bucknell had its last four games rained out. Unable to play at the UMBC Dawg Pound Classic last weekend, the Bison's record stays at 2-2 after splitting its doubleheaders at the George Mason Invitational their last time out. Bucknell defeated the host Patriots and Marist, but fell twice to Cornell.
The last time the Bison posted two wins in their first four games of a season was in 2005 when they opened with a 3-2 record.
Sherry Finkel (Morgantown, W. Va./University) is leading the Bison in batting average after the first weekend of play. The senior is hitting .500 (6-12) with two doubles and a home run that put Bucknell up 8-0 in the fourth inning against Marist. She is the only Bison to record at least one hit in all four games.
Mary Horton (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) and Bridget Gates (Milford, Conn./Our Lady of Mercy Lauralton Hall) made quite the splash in their Bucknell debuts. Horton hit .455 (5-11) with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Gates was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week after going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a shutout in her first two appearances as a Bison.
Bucknell earned a come-from-behind win in its season opener vs. George Mason. The Bison trailed 3-0 after five innings, but posted two runs in the sixth and another four in the seventh to pull out the 6-3 victory. The late-inning push was capped off with a three-run homer from Mary Pavlovich (Johnstown, Pa./Richland), the fourth of her career.
The late production against George Mason proved to be a preview of things to come. Bucknell also recorded five of its six runs in the last two innings against Cornell. In their first four games, the Bison have totaled seven runs in the first three innings and 18 runs in the fourth inning or later.
Bucknell made the most of its offense against Marist. The Bison finished the shortened game against the Red Foxes with 11 runs off 11 hits and recorded 11 RBI.
With a double in the Bison's first game against Cornell, Pavlovich improved her career total to 28. The senior now ranks eighth all-time at Bucknell, just one double behind Meredith Gill (2000-03) for seventh and two behind Kristen Sandel (1995-98) and Jenna Demetriades (1999-2002) for fifth.
Pavlovich also moved into the top 10 in career runs scored with her play at George Mason. The senior is 10th with 70 runs in just over three years in the Orange and Blue.
Other Bison to find their names on the Bucknell top-10 lists include Alison Ford (Suisun City, Calif./Fairfield) and Jessie Snyder (Tacoma, Wash./Stadium). Both have seven career home runs, tying them for ninth all-time at Bucknell.
ABOUT THE CRIMSON
Harvard will stay in California for the single game against Bucknell following an appearance at the Amy S. Harrison Classic at UC Riverside last weekend. The Crimson went 2-2 at the tournament, bringing its season record to 4-5. Both of Harvard's wins at the Classic came over Northern Illinois, 2-1 and 5-4.
Leading the Crimson is former All-Ivy League First Team selection, Rachel Brown. Brown is 4-0 in the pitchers' circle with a 0.61 ERA and two shutouts. The sophomore also has 44 strikeouts and just three walks. At the plate, Melissa Schellbert is hitting .304 (7-23).
Harvard had a successful 2009, finishing 27-17 overall and 12-8 in the Ivy League, which was good for second. The Crimson placed five players on All-Ivy teams and all but one of them returns.
Bucknell leads the series with Harvard, 4-1. It has been awhile since the teams last met in 1989. Bucknell took both games in Myrtle Beach, S.C., 2-1 and 1-0. Sharon Nichols, then a sophomore, went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in those two games. The pitcher also struck out 13, including 10 in the 1-0 shutout.
ABOUT THE LIONS
Loyola Marymount is 4-11 heading into its home tournament. The Lions went 1-4 at last weekend's Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament at Hawaii, claiming their lone win, 4-0, over Troy.
The Lions have several players hitting better than .300, including Danielle Smith at .382 (13-24), Jennifer Nayudu at .375 (9-24) and Sam Fischer at .357 (15-42). Pitcher Melissa Dykema leads the squad in wins with a 3-6 reocrd and 4.25 ERA. She also has pitched five complete games and one shutout.
The 2009 season ended with Loyola Marymount at 24-30 overall and 10-10 in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference. Fischer hit a team-high .360 during the campaign, while pitchers Dykema and Corie Goodman each finished with double-digit wins. Seven Lions earned All-PCSC honors, but only three of them return for the 2010 season.
Bucknell is 0-2 all-time against Loyola Marymount. Both those meetings came at the Lions' 2008 tournament. The Bison fell 3-0 and 3-1.
ABOUT THE WOLVERINES
Utah Valley has struggled early in the season. The Wolverines come to Los Angeles on an eight-game losing streak, which brings their season tally to 3-10. They finished last weekend at the Colorado State Invitational 0-3 against North Dakota State and South Dakota State.
Despite the losing record, Utah Valley has three players hitting better than .350. Cherylyn McGraw is batting .441 (15-34), while Amanda Perez is at .405 (15-37) with 11 RBI. Charlee Cisneros rounds out the group at .368 (14-38). Three different pitchers have each of the Wolverines' wins this season. Posting a team-best ERA of 4.08 is Kyli Flanary.
Utah Valley was 16-27 a year ago, earning five spots on the All-Independent Team. Three of those players return in 2010.
The meetings between the Bison and the Wolverines will be a first in program history.
ABOUT THE FIGHTING SIOUX
North Dakota went 0-4 last weekend, bringing its season record to 3-14. The Fighting Sioux managed just five runs in four games in their latest stretch, falling to Oregon State 11-3, Boise State 4-1 and Oregon 7-1 and 12-0.
Casie Hanson leads North Dakota at the plate with a .438 (21-48) batting average and four home runs. Toni Schutte has a team-high 12 RBI while hitting .302 (13-43). In the pitchers' circle, Emma Gronseth is 3-6 for the Fighting Sioux, with six complete games and one shutout. The freshman has an 8.10 ERA in 50.0 innings of work. No North Dakota player has an ERA of less than 7.00.
North Dakota finished 2009 with a 9-33 record and lost its lone All-Independent Team selection to graduation.
Bucknell and North Dakota have never faced each other prior to this week.
UP NEXT
After their spring break trip, the Bison will give playing in Baltimore another shot. Bucknell will take on Coppin State March 27-28. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 1 p.m., while Sunday's action includes a single game starting at noon.
