Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Cornell
Bucknell Softball Shuts Out Mount St. Mary's, Takes Loss to Cornell
3/27/2011 8:00:00 AM | Softball
March 27, 2011
EMMITSBURG, Md. - Alison Ford (Suisun City, Calif./Fairfield) broke open the scoring against Mount St. Mary's and Bridget Gates (Milford, Conn./Academy of Our Lady of Mercy Lauralton Hall) held the Mountaineers without a run, propelling Bucknell softball to a 4-0 win at Meadows Field on Sunday afternoon. The shutout came on the heels of a 4-1 loss to Cornell early in the day, as the Bison (7-19) played to a .500 record at the Mount St. Mary's Tournament.
Bucknell finished the weekend with two wins against Mount St. Mary's (8-13) and two losses to Cornell (11-11-1). Ford and Lauren Fry (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) had the standout performances offensively for the Bison. Ford closed out play hitting .500 (5-10) at the plate with three runs scored and two runs batted in over the course of the four games. Fry was .455 (5-11) with three runs scored as well.
Two of Ford's hits this weekend were doubles, and the last one gave Bucknell a 2-0 lead against Mount St. Mary's in the Bison's final game of the tournament. Neither team had scored going into the sixth inning, but Jessie Snyder (Tacoma, Wash./Stadium) led off the frame with a single and advanced to second thanks to a sacrifice bunt from Meredith Dickson (Fogelsville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh). Fry followed with her own single, and Ford brought both of her teammates home with the extra-base hit to left field.
The Bison tagged another run on, giving them a 3-0 lead with the contest winding down. The Mountaineers could only get a single in the bottom half of the inning, but Courtney Zingle never got into scoring position. That kept Bucknell's lead safe and even gave the Bison room to expand it in the seventh when Snyder connected for a two-out single that scored a pinch running Kasey Segiel (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional).
After going 0-for-2 against Cornell, Snyder rebounded with a 3-for-4 performance against Mount St. Mary's. The senior also had a run and an RBI to go along with her trio of base-hits.
Making the shutout possible was a strong pitching performance from Gates. Gates struggled against Cornell yesterday, lasting just 2.0 innings in her start, but the sophomore gave up just four hits and struck out three in Sunday's complete game. Her record improves to 3-8 with the win. It was her second shutout of the season and the fourth of her career.
Taking the loss for the Mountaineers was Nicole Pagano. Pagano (5-6) allowed all four runs on eight hits.
It took Bucknell some time to get on the board against Cornell, but by the time the Bison got their first and only run, they already trailed by four. The Big Red recorded six singles in the first three innings, and that put them in front 2-0. Two more runs came in the fourth on their first extra-base hit. Erin Belles doubled to center field to score Jenny Edwards and Erin Keene and gave Cornell a comfortable 4-0 advantage.
It was a Ford double that was again largely responsible for Bucknell's offense. The senior reached with her shot to right center field and scored on the next batter when Laura Sandford (New Egypt, N.J./New Egypt) had her own double. Both hits came with two outs as did Gates' single in the next at-bat.
Of Bucknell's four hits against Cornell, three of them came in the fourth inning. Gates also doubled in the second, giving the designated player her first career extra-base hit. The pitching performance against Bucknell gave Elizabeth Dalrymple the win. The senior is now 5-3 after striking out seven batters and allowing just the one run in 7.0 innings.
Bucknell pitcher Alex MacLean (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) fell to 4-11 on the season. The sophomore gave up all four runs on 11 hits. She also struck out three but walked four batters in her own complete game.
Bucknell will play its home opener on Wednesday, March 30 when it hosts Drexel. The doubleheader at Becker Field is slated for a 3 p.m. start.
