Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Cornell
Bucknell Softball Shuts Out Marist 11-0, Falls 6-1 to Cornell at George Mason Invite
3/7/2010 7:00:00 AM | Softball
March 7, 2010
FAIRFAX, Va. - Bucknell softball split decisions for the second time in as many days, shutting out Marist 11-0 in five innings before falling 6-1 to Cornell at the George Mason Invitational on Sunday. The Bison end their first weekend of play with a 2-2 record after earning their first shutout of the season.
The Bison exploded offensively against the Red Foxes (0-3) and it did not take long for the action to get started. Bucknell sent a combined 16 batters to the plate in the first two innings and 11 more in the fourth, making it a short outing in the morning game. Mary Horton (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) led off the game with a double. The freshman then advanced to third on a passed ball and scored as Lauren Fry (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) singled down the right side.
Fry later scored with the help of a sacrifice from Sherry Finkel (Morgantown, W. Va./University) and a single from Jessie Snyder (Tacoma, Wash./Stadium). The Bison's scoring concluded as Mary Pavlovich (Johnstown, Pa./Richland), who reached on a walk, was brought home on an Alison Ford (Suisun City, Calif./Fairfield) single. Marist finally out of the inning after allowing three runs.
The Red Foxes found themselves in similar territory in the second inning as the Bison again put three runs on the board. Horton recorded her second hit on the day with an infield single. She eventually advanced to third on back-to-back fielders' choices. With the bases loaded, Pavlovich was hit by a pitch, scoring Horton.
The bases remained full of Bison and that continued to haunt Marist. Snyder drew a bases-loaded walk to score Fry, and Alyssa Okita (Davis, Calif./Davis) scored Finkel on a sacrifice fly soon after. At the end of two innings, Bucknell led 6-0.
The third inning came and went without much activity, much to Marist's relief. The Red Foxes' woes returned in the fourth, however, as 11 Bison rounded the bases. Finkel connected for her first home run of the season, plating two. Alanna Woody then walked the next batter and gave up a sacrifice fly, a single and another walk to the next three. A strikeout broke the run temporarily, but back-to-back walks to two of the last three batters set the score at 11-0 in favor of the Bison.
When the game ended after the fifth inning, Bucknell had secured its second win of the season with the help of a three-hit shutout from Bridget Gates (Milford, Conn./Academy of Our Lady of Lauralton Hall) that improves the freshman pitcher's record to 2-0. Marist's Emily Osterhause (0-2) took the loss after 3.0 innings pitched and eight runs on eight hits.
Horton finished the game 3-for-4 from the plate with two runs and two RBI. Fry was 2-for-3 with two runs of her own. Finkel, Snyder and Okita each added two RBI as well.
Game two for the Bison did not go in their favor quite as much. Bucknell found itself in an early whole agaomst Cornell (3-0) despite numerous opportunities to put some runs on the board. The Bison trailed just 1-0 after four innings, but they had stranded five runners on the base paths.
Bucknell opened play against the Big Red with a defensive highlight. Jane Messersmith (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) got Cornell's Devon March to ground into a double play in the first inning but struggled with her control in the second. Making her first appearance in the pitchers' circle this spring, Messersmith hit the first Cornell batter of the inning and walked the next. Although she got Erica Gaeta to pop up to the shortstop for the first out, back-to-back singles allowed the Big Red to plate their first run of the day.
Things stayed quiet for the next few innings, but Cornell scored another run in the fifth and again in the sixth. Ashley Garvey reached base for the third time on a single to right field before scoring on a single up the middle from teammate Erin Belles.
The Bison offense finally got something to show for its hard work in the sixth after Pavlovich drew a walk to give Bucknell its sixth baserunner of the day. Messersmith moved pinch runner Cassie Greenhawk (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) to third on a long single, and Ford earned the RBI on a single of her own. Cornell pitcher Elizabeth Dalrymple then put a quick stop to the Bison's push and struck out the final two batters.
Bucknell trailed just 3-1 after six innings, but Cornell put some final touches on the score in top half of the seventh. The Big Red tallied four hits and three runs in their last offensive opportunity, setting the final score at 6-1.
Dalrymple (2-0) earned the win after giving up six hits for one earned run in 7.0 innings of work. She also struck out 11 and walked just two. Messersmith (0-1) took the loss, giving up six earned runs on 12 hits in 6.2 innings.
Ford was 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI in the contest with Cornell. The Big Red's Cornell finished 1-for-1 with two walks and two runs to lead her team offensively.
Bucknell will be back on the field for another four-game tournament next weekend. The Bison will travel to Baltimore, Md., March 12-13 for the UMBC Dawg Pound Classic.
