Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Mount St. Mary's
Bucknell Softball Upends Mount St. Mary's 4-2, Falls 6-0 to Cornell
3/26/2011 8:00:00 AM | Softball
March 26, 2011
EMMITSBURG, Md. - Bucknelll softball put two runs on the board late against Mount St. Mary's, opening the Mountaineers' tournament with a 4-2 victory at Meadows Field on Saturday afternoon. Despite multi-hit performances from four different Bison, that offensive momentum did not carry into the nightcap, however, as Bucknell (6-18) fell 6-0 to Cornell.
Elyse Colmenero (Fresno, Calif./Central) hit a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs batted in against Mount St. Mary's. Joining the senior in the offense was Lauren Fry (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), who went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs, and Alison Ford (Suisun City, Calif./Fairfield), who finished the opening contest 2-for-3 with a run and two stolen bases. Mallory Lyons (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) was also 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Fry's offensive success was really the only one that carried over into the game against Cornell. The centerfielder was 2-for-3, bringing her batting average to .571 for the day. Her two runs scored pushed her over the century mark for her career, giving her 101 in just under four years of play.
Fry's first run of the day came early against Mount St. Mary's (8-11) and gave Bucknell a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. After singling to left field, Fry eventually scored on an RBI double from Colmenero. It was the second double of the inning for the Bison after Jessie Snyder (Tacoma, Wash./Stadium) led off the frame with an extra-base hit that ultimately resulted in the team's first run.
Alex MacLean (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) retired the side in order in each of the first two innings, but the third proved to be more problematic. The Mountaineers scored both of their runs in that inning, knotting things up at 2-2.
A walk, an error and a wild pitch wreaked havoc and led to both scores. Alexa Tuck led off the inning with the walk and stole second to put herself in scoring position. The sophomore scored as Katy Bobbitt reached base and advanced to third on an error by MacLean. Bobbitt promptly scored on a wild pitch during the Mountaineers' next at-bat.
MacLean gave up three more base hits before the inning came to a close, but Mount St. Mary's claimed no more damage. Ford and Lyons broke things open for Bucknell again in the fifth. Ford singled to the outfield with one out. Lyons then doubled to left field to bring home Ford's game-winning run.
A fourth and final run was added in the seventh, but it was not necessary as Bucknell won its second consecutive game. After the final pitch, MacLean (4-10) had allowed just one earned run on three hits, all in the third inning. The sophomore also had five strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work.
Taking the loss for Mount St. Mary's was Amanda Sadowl (3-3). Sadowl allowed four runs on 10 hits. She walked our batters and only struck out one.
As much as they tried, the Bison could not keep the success running into the second game of the day. Bucknell put two runners in scoring position in the first inning as Snyder drew a leadoff walk, and Fry and Ford recorded back-to-back singles, but the offense slowed after that thanks to a strong pitching performance from Cornell's Elizabeth Dalrymple.
Dalrymple, who had earned the win with 12 strikeouts in the Big Red's 3-0 victory against the Bison on March 12, put up similar numbers on Saturday. The senior improved to 4-3 on the season with 11 strikeouts in her five-hit shutout.
After the first frame, Bucknell was unable to record more than one hit per inning for the rest of the contest. Cornell (8-10-1) did no have the same difficulties, however. The Big Red took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the third and quickly doubled their lead. Christina Villalon led off with a home run to centerfield, the second leadoff homer of the game for Cornell. A walk to Keene, who hit that first home run in the second inning, was followed by another shot to centerfield from Erin Belles. That gave the Big Red a 6-0 lead with more than half of the game to play.
Courtney Conover (Ocean Township, N.J./Ocean Township) was held responsible for the last two home runs after entering the game in relief in the third. Bridget Gates (Milford, Conn./Academy of Our Lady of Mercy Lauralton Hall) took the loss after lasting just 2.0 innings. The sophomore allowed two earned runs on two hits before giving way to Conover. Conover gave up three hits, but just one of those came after the pair of home runs in the third inning.
Bucknell will have another shot at both teams tomorrow. The Bison will take on Cornell first at 11 a.m., followed by Mount St. Mary's at 1 p.m.
