Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Army
Bucknell Softball Overpowered by Army in Series Finale
4/15/2012 8:00:00 AM | Softball
April 15, 2012
| BUY PHOTOS
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell softball's struggles continued on Sunday afternoon as it dropped two more contests to Army at Becker Field, 11-0 (5 inn.) and 13-2. The Bison had their opportunities offensively but were unable to cash in as they dropped to 6-29 overall and 0-12 in the Patriot League.
Bucknell left 12 runners on base on the second day of the series, including eight in game two. Seven of those came in the first three innings of game two, and five were stranded in scoring position. The Bison even had the bases loaded in the first inning. They had to wait until the fifth inning to get their first runs of the day, however. Meredith Dickson (Fogelsville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) led off by getting hit by a pitch, and Mallory Lyons (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) later doubled the pinch running Caryn Connors (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) to third base.
With two out, Nikki Silva (Milford, Mass./Mount St. Charles Academy (R.I.)), connected for a base hit to drive home both her teammates. Bucknell got two runs out of the offensive push and trailed 4-2 at that point.
Army (26-15, 9-3 PL) had benefited from some huge innings throughout the day, and the end of game two was no different. With the Bison looking for a comeback, the Black Knights quickly shut the door and added three runs in the sixth inning and six runs in the seventh. In its final set of at-bats, Army sent 11 to the plate and recorded five runs. Rachael Duval claimed a home run and a two-RBI single in the frame to lead the Black Knights down the stretch. She finished the game 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three runs batted in.
April Ortenzo could not have asked for a better day offensively. The Army shortstop was 5-for-5 in the finale. She ultimately finished Sunday 8-for-8 with five runs scored and two RBI. Some of that production came in the second inning of game one when the Black Knights showed off their ability to put together some long scoring stretches. Army sent 10 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on five hits in that one frame.
With an early 7-0 lead, Army moved easily through the remainder of the game. The Black Knights put two more runs on the board in the third and two in the fifth to get to a shortened 11-0 victory.
Alex MacLean (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) fell to 3-19 on the year in the pitchers' circle after taking the loss in both games. Courtney Conover (Ocean Township, N.J./Ocean Township) also earned two appearances on the day. Against the Bison duo, Army totaled 24 runs on 30 hits in both contests.
Morgan Lashley (22-11) earned the win in both games for Army. She allowed seven of eight hits and both runs on the day.
Bucknell will be back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Loretto, Pa., for a doubleheader at Saint Francis (Pa.) at 3 p.m.
