Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Softball Opens Home, Patriot League Slate with Colgate this Weekend
3/27/2012 8:00:00 AM | Softball
March 27, 2012
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - After having another set of games rained out, Bucknell softball now turns its attention to the start of Patriot League play as it hosts Colgate this weekend at Charles & Karen Becker Field. Before they can get to their home and conference opener, however, the Bison must hit the road one more time to challenge Drexel in a doubleheader Wednesday. The first pitch for Bucknell vs. Drexel is set for 3 p.m. in Philadelphia, while the Bison vs. Raiders series begins at 1 p.m. Saturday and continues at noon on Sunday.
Despite coming away with a pair of losses at Delaware State's Sean Savage Epilepsy Awareness Tournament last Saturday, Bucknell received a bit of an offensive spark from several in the lineup. Entering the weekend, only one Bison was hitting better than .300 for the season with Meredith Dickson (Fogelsville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) at .412. At the end of play, three more had joined her, including Bridget Gates (Milford, Conn./Academy of Our Lady of Mercy Lauralton Hall), Kristen Zahn (Readington, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) and Mary Horton (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas). Against the Big Red, Dickson, Zahn and Gates all recorded multi-hit performances. Colie Escobar (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) and Laura Sandford (New Egypt, N.J./New Egypt) also reached base more than once. Five more Bison reached base multiple times later in the day against Delaware State, including Horton who hit 3-for-4 with a double.
Gates closed out the weekend with four RBI to lead Bucknell at the tournament. She now has seven runs batted in on the season, ranking her second on the team behind Mallory Lyons (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) with eight. Lyons totaled seven RBI all of last year in her rookie campaign.
Bucknell struggled to keep its opponents at Delaware State from hitting the long ball, and it will have to try to limit its future foes power game to have success this week as well. Drexel (10-13) has four players with more than one home run this season, including Paige Collings, who connected for two homers in the Dragons' 20-1 (5 inn.) victory over North Carolina Central in mid-March. Collings, who is hitting .329 (23-70) this spring, has three home runs to go along with a team-best six doubles and 20 RBI.
The last time Bucknell and Drexel squared off, they split the 2010 doubleheader. The Dragons kicked things off with a 3-1 victory in Philadelphia as both teams recorded just three hits. An RBI single in the second inning scored the winning run and a home run in the fourth gave Drexel the insurance run. Bucknell then came back for a nine-inning 3-2 win in the nightcap. Former Bison Alison Ford hit 2-for-3 with two RBI and a home run of her own. The split decision maintained the Dragons' 21-17 series lead over the Bison.
The series between Bucknell and Colgate is much closer as the Raiders lead 44-43 all-time. They took the advantage last spring after sweeping the Bison in the regular season. That Saturday ended with Colgate winning 3-2 and 5-2, and all eight of its runs were the result of homers. The power trend continued on Sunday when the Raiders won 9-0 (6 inn.) and 5-4 in Hamilton, N.Y. After all four games, four different Raiders had combined for nine home runs. Stephanie Hartquist connected for three of them, while Tera Vaughn, Emmie Dolfi, Nicole Siedhof each had two. All but Siedhof return in 2012.
Siedhof is also Colgate's only non-returning 2011 All-Patriot League player. Back on the field are sophomores Vaughn and Rachel LeCoq who, in addition to being named first team honorees, were also the league's Rookie of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. Colgate finished 2011 as the Patriot League regular-season champions. The Raiders then fell in the conference tournament finals for the second consecutive year (Bucknell in 2010, Lehigh in 2011).
After claiming a 2011 record of 27-21 overall and 16-3 in the Patriot League, Colgate is off to a slower 5-14 clip this spring. The Raiders are 3-3 in their last six outings after splitting with Syracuse (L, 6-0) and Canisius (W, 5-4 in 8 inn.) at the Carrier Dome last weekend. As a team, they're hitting .203 and have an ERA of 3.60. Their opponents this season are .262 at the plate and have a 1.59 ERA.
After spending more than a month on the road, Bucknell will remain at Becker Field for back-to-back series. Following the Colgate matchup, the Bison will host La Salle at 3:30 p.m. on April 4.
