Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Army
Bucknell Softball Splits with Army, Claims 4-3 Win in Series Opener
5/1/2010 8:00:00 AM | Softball
May 1, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Alison Ford (Suisun City, Calif./Fairfield) connected for two home runs and Bucknell softball guaranteed itself its first winning season since 1996 as the Bison split the first doubleheader with Army at the Bucknell Softball Field on Saturday afternoon. The Bison (23-16-1, 10-8) came from behind for a 4-3 victory in the opener but fell short in their comeback bid in a 6-5 loss in the nightcap on Senior Day.
Ford finished the day just 2-for-7, but the junior's two hits were big ones. Her first home run of the day came in the sixth inning of the first game, tying the game at two apiece.
Bucknell had carried a one-run lead through much of the contest after a strange second inning. Shelly McCormack (Humble, Texas/Kingwood) singled to third base with one out, then advanced to second on an illegal pitch.
Alyssa Okita (Davis, Calif./Davis) followed up with a single to third as well. She and the pinch running Cassie Greenhawk (Oxford, Md./Easton) forced Army's (29-17, 12-4) hand after the play, and the Bison recorded a double steal with Greenhawk swiping home. The base running gave Bucknell the 1-0 lead that stood until the fifth inning when the Black Knights finally got on the board.
Bucknell and Army went back-and-forth in the final three frames. Army's Tiffany Held led off the fifth with a walk, and Reanna Johnson followed up with an RBI double. That proved to be the only extra-base hit allowed by Bucknell's Bridget Gates (Milford, Conn./Academy of Our Lady of Mercy Lauralton Hall). The freshman pitcher did give up two singles in the inning, however, leading to another run and giving Army a 2-1 lead.
Bucknell got one of those runs back in the sixth on Ford's homer before the Black Knights's Rachael Duval singled in Clara Navarro for a 3-2 Army advantage. The game then ended on a bizarre series of plays. Lauren Fry (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) reached on an error with two outs to keep the Bison's hopes alive. Mary Pavlovich (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) then singled down the right field line, putting runners on first and third. Army's Beverly Nordin, who had pitched well throughout the game, allowed both runs to score on separate wild pitches to give Bucknell the walk-off victory.
Nordin (6-7) allowed two earned runs and struck out three in 6.2 innings of work before taking the loss. Gates (12-4) earned the win after giving up three earned runs on eight hits and striking out six in 7.0 innings.
Bucknell connected for just five hits - four singles and a home run - in the first game. Pavlovich, McCormack, Okita and Elyse Colmenero (Fresno, Calif./Central) recorded the singles.
The day's second contest unraveled much like the first with the Bison taking an early but slim lead. The Bison plated two in the first inning with the help of a Ford home run. Ford's shot also scored Fry, who had singled to lead off the game.
A series of singles put Army on the board in the top of the second, but Bucknell kept the lead at two with its own offensive stretch in the bottom half of the inning. Jane Messersmith (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch and advanced to second on a bunt single from Jessie Snyder (Tacoma, Wash./Stadium). Okita used a sacrifice bunt to move both runners along, and Colmenero loaded the bases with a walk and only one out.
Fry set the score at 3-1 with a single up the middle that scored Messersmith and knocked Jessi Muckelroy out of the pitchers' circle. With a new pitcher in Shawna Bleyl, the Black Knights got through the inning without any further damage.
They wreaked havoc of their own in the fourth, going up 6-3 on a combination of hits and Bison miscues. Johnson led off with a single, Jessica Garcia reached on an error and Jennae Tomlinson walked to load the bases. Alex Reynolds then cleared the bases with a double to left field. Two hits later, including a two-RBI double from Alexis AuBuchon, put Army ahead by three.
The Black Knights moved comfortably through the next two innings as Bleyl faced just three batters in both the fifth and the sixth frames. The Bison gave them another scare in the seventh, however. Pavlovich put a shot just inside the left field line that rolled to the fence, giving her a triple and scoring a teammate for 6-4. McCormack then dropped a single into shallow left field for another run. A score of 6-5 was as close as Bucknell got as Bleyl got the final two batters to ground out to end the game.
Bleyl (12-4) earned the win, giving up two runs on three hits in 5.2 innings of work. Alex MacLean (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) took the loss, falling to 8-4 on the year after allowing three earned runs on 11 hits in 7.0 innings.
Bucknell again put few hits on the score sheet, recording just seven in the second game. Fry was the only Bison to register a multi-hit performance, finishing 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Bucknell will try to improve its position in the Patriot League standings against Army tomorrow. The doubleheader, which will be broadcast live on WVBU 90.5 FM and at SportsJuice.com, will begin at 10 a.m.
