Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Softball to Play Five at George Washington Colonial Classic
2/28/2013 7:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 28, 2013
- Tournament\ Central (Schedule, Live Stats, Streaming Video)
Bucknell Schedule at Colonial Classic
Friday, March 1
1:30 p.m. - at George Washington
3:15 p.m. - vs. Dartmouth
Saturday, March 2
3:15 p.m. - vs. Seton Hall
Sunday, March 3
11:45 a.m. - vs. Dartmouth
1:30 p.m. - vs. Seton Hall
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell softball will head to Washington, D.C., for five games at the Colonial Classic this weekend. The Bison (1-7) will take on the host school George Washington in the tournament opener Friday at 1:30 p.m., with a pair of games against both Dartmouth and Seton Hall to follow later in the event at the Mount Vernon Campus. Live stats on GameTracker will be available for all games and the contest against the Colonials will stream live online at GWsports.com.
Bucknell has had mixed results against its weekend opponents. The Bison are 4-2 all-time against the Colonials and 0-7 against the Pirates. The Friday matchup between Bucknell and Dartmouth will be the first in series history.
Bucknell will likely continue looking to its youth to get the success rolling this weekend and improve on those series records. Freshman Mariah Midyette has moved herself into the lead in several statistical categories after the first two weekends of play. The outfielder currently has or shares the team lead in hits (6), runs scored (5), RBI (3), doubles (5), home runs (1), slugging percentage (.545) and walks (5). Her 2-for-2 mark in stolen bases is also the team's best.
Against Stony Brook alone, which ended in a 4-3 eight-inning loss for Bucknell, Midyette was 1-for-2 with a sacrifice, two RBI and a run scored. Over the course of the weekend at the Longwood Spring Classic, she hit .400 (4-10) at the plate with three extra-base hits.
Erin Cox has also provided some noteworthy offensive numbers. The sophomore ended her rookie campaign with five doubles, four of which came in her final four appearances of the season. This spring Cox has four hits, three of which have gone for two bases, giving her seven doubles in her last 11 games.
Doubles played a major part in Bucknell's last meeting with George Washington. The Bison and the Colonials split their doubleheader in 2008. A 2-1 loss for Bucknell was followed by a 10-5 victory. The Bison put up three runs in the third inning and five more in the fourth, totaling four doubles in those two frames.
This spring George Washington has posted a 3-7 record. After shutting out Seton Hall 8-0 in five innings in their season opener, the Colonials have lost seven of their last nine. They most recently split a doubleheader with Drexel (W 8-0, L 3-2).
Freshman Carlee Gray has put up some solid offensive numbers with a team-best .379 (11-29) batting average, and while George Washington is hitting .230 as a team, its opponents are coming just a hair higher at .257.
Dartmouth is the only team coming into the weekend with a winning record, but at 3-2 that has the potential to change quickly. The Big Green's wins at the Stetson Tournament came against Bethune-Cookman (3-2 & 8-4) and Florida A&M (6-2). Losses have been a bit more varied, ending 7-0 to Stetson and 9-6 in eight innings in a third game against Bethune-Cookman.
Dartmouth's top numbers so far this season have come from Hillary Hubert with a .400 (4-10) batting average and six RBI. The team is a collective .254 at the plate, while its pitching staff has a 4.00 ERA and an opponent BA of .301. Kristen Rumley, who was named All-Ivy Honorable Mention last year as a freshman, is 3-1 with 2.23 ERA. She also has 18 of her team's 28 strikeouts this year.
Seton Hall also has three wins on the year but stands just a tad below .500 at 3-5. The Pirates opened their campaign with a 12-5 victory over St. Bonaventure, a team that defeated Bucknell 8-7 in 10 innings earlier this year. Seton Hall is most recently coming off a 5-3 victory over Mount St. Mary's, which ended a four-game losing streak.
Seton Hall relies heavily on Danielle DeStaso both offensively and in the pitchers' circle. The sophomore leads the team with a .500 (11-22) batting average as well as nine RBI. Defensively, she is 2-1 with a 3.39 ERA and has 24 strikeouts in her five appearances. Despite DeStaso's efforts, Seton Hall is hitting .264 as a team with opponents at .308. The team ERA is also above five.
Bucknell will be looking for its first-ever win against Seton Hall when they play this weekend. The Bison and Pirates last played in 2006 with Seton Hall winning 16-6 in six innings. The Pirates led by just two runs until the fifth inning when they erupted for a total of 14 runs in the final two frames. The Bison scored all six of their runs in the fifth and sixth.
After its five games in Washington, D.C., Bucknell will do quite a bit of moving around during its Spring Break Trip. The Bison will head south to take on Houston Baptist (March 11), Lamar (March 12), McNeese State (March 13), Prairie View A&M (March 15) and Texas Southern (March 26), playing doubleheaders on each opponent's home field. At the road trip's end, Bucknell will then be able to turn its attention to its home opener. The Bison are slated for a doubleheader against Drexel on March 27 at Becker Field.
