Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lafayette
Bucknell Softball Shut Down by Lafayette, 3-0 & 5-2
4/25/2011 8:00:00 AM | Softball
April 25, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell softball gave up valuable ground in the hunt for the postseason, dropping the final two games of the series with Lafayette, 3-0 and 5-2, at Becker Field on Monday afternoon. The Bison (12-32, 4-12) suffered a one-hit shutout from the Leopards' (7-34, 4-12) Melissa Robinson in game one and it was Lafayette's offense that kept Bucknell at bay in the finale as it erased a late comeback attempt with four runs in the sixth inning.
Lafayette scored first in game two on an RBI double from Stacey Kushner. Bucknell made it 2-1 in its favor in the sixth, however, thanks to a walk and three consecutive hits. Jessie Snyder (Tacoma, Wash./Stadium) led off the inning with a base on balls, and Mary Horton (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) followed with a double. Lauren Fry (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) and Alison Ford (Suisun City, Calif./Fairfield) knocked in both runs with RBI singles.
Any thoughts of a comeback were quickly put to rest. The Leopards sent nine batters to the plate and totaled five hits in the bottom half of the inning. Lauren Murphy tripled to the wall in right center field to score the go-ahead run, and by the time it was all said and done, Lafayette led by a score of 5-2.
Robinson did not allow Bucknell's offense to get restarted in the seventh and retired the Bison in order. Bucknell never got the ball out of the infield.
Ford finished the game 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI. The senior extended her hitting streak to 11 games. She has now recorded a hit in 25 of her last 27 games and in 33 of her last 36. Ford also moved into a tie for second with Lauren Wible for career runs batted in at Bucknell with 96.
Ford hit .417 (5-for-12) with three RBI in the series. Both numbers were team highs.
It was Robinson's fourth complete game of the series. In the finale, she allowed both runs on five hits, improving her season record to 6-12. The freshman's strongest performance came in Monday's opener, however, as she just missed a no-hitter. Up until the seventh inning, Robinson had allowed just four base runners, all coming on walks. Ford then singled up the middle with one out in the seventh.
Sophia Geraci (East Moriches, N.Y./Westhampton Beach) followed Ford with a walk, her third of the game. Ford and Geraci were stranded in scoring position, preserving Lafayette's shutout.
The Leopards did their offense damage in the fifth inning. Bridget Gates (Milford, Conn./Academy of Our Lady of Mercy Lauralton Hall) gave up just three hits through the first four frames, but Lafayette eventually found its swing. Gwen Turner and Mary Episcopo led off the fifth with singles. Back-to-back sacrifice bunts moved them around and opened the scoring. Stacey Dorn then walked to load the bases with two outs.
The Bison were nearly out of the inning with only a one-run deficit, but a throwing error on the shortstop allowed two runs to score. At the end of the frame, Lafayette went into the field leading 3-0.
Robinson's one-hitter came with three strikeouts and five walks.
Gates and Alex MacLean (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) both took losses for Bucknell. Gates (6-15) gave up just one earned run on seven hits in the first game. She walked four and struck out four in 6.0 innings of work. MacLean (6-17) gave up five runs on 10 hits in 5.1 innings in game two. She struck out three batters before giving way to Courtney Conover (Ocean Township, N.J./Ocean Township) to make the final two outs in the sixth.
MacLean now has 102 strikeouts on the year, moving her into fourth in Bucknell single-season history. She trails only Christie Wiest, who holds the top two spots on that list with 122 and 106 strikeouts. Brandi Porter is third with 104.
Bucknell has two more regular-season series remaining on the schedule. First up is La Salle on Wednesday. The doubleheader in Philadelphia is set for a 3:30 p.m. start.
