Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Softball Hosts Holy Cross for Senior Day, Final Home Series
4/16/2012 8:00:00 AM | Softball
April 16, 2012
Live Game Coverage:
LEWISBURG, Pa. -Bucknell softball will play its final home series and go for its first Patriot League win of the season this weekend when it welcomes Holy Cross to Becker Field April 21-22. Fans can catch Sunday's doubleheader on the radio on WVBU 90.5 FM and online at SportsJuice.com. Before they can get to the Crusaders, however, the Bison must first take on Saint Francis (Pa.) in Loretto, Pa., on Tuesday. The midweek action begins at 3 p.m.
Bucknell (6-29, 0-12 PL) had its share of highs and lows last weekend when it hosted Army. Among the highs were Meredith Dickson's (Fogelsville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) first career home run in game one against the Black Knights. Tori Robinson (Corona, Calif./Corona Centennial) was 4-for-10 at the plate during the series as well. The freshman entered the weekend on a six-game hitless streak, then snapped it against Army with a 2-for-4 outing in game two. It was Robinson's first career multi-hit game. She now has at least one hit in each of her last three contests.
In the pitchers' circle, Alex MacLean (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) continued to climb up some Bucknell record lists. She is also staring down some single-season records. She begins the week tied for fourth in appearances and tied for fifth in starts and is within reach of the No. 1 ranking in both. Former Bison Christie Wiest owns both records with 32 single-season appearances and 28 starts.
Among the activities planned for this weekend is Senior Day on Saturday. The Bison will recognize Dickson prior to the doubleheader with Holy Cross, which begins at 1 p.m.
Bucknell has maintained a firm grip on the series with Holy Cross over the years, leading 46-29 all-time. The two teams have split the doubleheader action in each of the last three seasons, however. Last year, Bucknell won both of Saturday's games as former Bison Alison Ford hit a combined 4-for-5, including a grand slam and seven total RBI in game one. Bucknell won 14-6 (5 inn.) and 4-3 on the opening day. Sunday went to the Crusaders, however, as they won 4-2 and 2-0 despite being outhit in both contests.
This season, Holy Cross is 7-25 overall and 2-10 in the conference. The Crusaders opened with four straight losses at Army, getting outscored 24-7. They then took one game off Lafayette and Lehigh in the next two weekends. As a team, Holy Cross is hitting .233 and has an ERA of 4.40. Julia Barrett leads the pitching staff with a 2.13 ERA and 5-11 record. The only Crusaders pitcher with more than 50 innings pitched (101.2), she also has 55 strikeouts.
Saint Francis will play host to Bucknell in a midweek doubleheader. The Red Flash enter Tuesday with a 17-21 mark. They have split each of their last three doubleheaders, losing game one and winning game two against Cleveland State, Mount St. Mary's and Bryant.
Saint Francis and its opponents have played relatively evenly throughout the year. The Red Flash's batting average comes in at .253, while opponents are hitting .274. The team ERAs are also similar at 3.00 for Saint Francis and 2.98 for its foes.
Bucknell leads 22-15 in the all-time series with the Red Flash. The two split their doubleheader last spring as Saint Francis won the opener 1-0 and Bucknell took the nightcap 6-5. The Bison jumped out to a 5-0 lead in game two, and although the Red Flash drew within one late in the game, Bucknell was able to hang on down the stretch. Dickson finished that contest with three RBI.
Bucknell has just one more regular-season series following this week's action. The Bison will head to Easton, Pa., to take on Lafayette on April 28-29.
