Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Softball Makes Southern Spring Break Trip to Texas
3/8/2013 7:00:00 AM | Softball
March 8, 2013
BUCKNELL SPRING BREAK SCHEDULE
(All Times Eastern, all dates doubleheaders)
March 11 (2 p.m.): at Houston Baptist (Houston, Texas) | Live Stats
March 12 (2 p.m.): at Lamar (Beaumont, Texas) | GameTracker 
March 13 (6 p.m.): at McNeese State (Lake Charles, La.) | Live Stats
March 15 (3 p.m.): at Prairie View A&M (Prairie View, Texas) | Live Stats
March 16 (1 p.m.): at Texas Southern (Houston, Texas)
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Many students are headed south for Spring Break and Bucknell softball is no exception as the Bison are scheduled for 10 games in Texas and Louisiana March 11-16. Bucknell (3-8) is slated for doubleheaders at Houston Baptist, Lamar, McNeese State, Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern, all opponents it has never faced in program history.
Bucknell did not quite get in the games it was hoping for the last time it was on the field. The Bison fell victim to early sunset more than once at the George Washington Colonial Classic, but did still get two victories and several individuals still came away with some noteworthy performances.
The Bison opened play with a 4-3 win in eight innings of George Washington. Dana Nielsen got her first career win in the pitchers' circle, throwing 2.2 innings of relief without giving up a hit or a run. Mallory Lyons connected for the game-winning RBI single against the Colonials, improving her season batting average with runners in scoring position to .500 (3-6), the best on the team.
Courtney Conover enjoyed a breakout performance when play resumed against Seton Hall. In two games against the Pirates, the junior hit .500 (3-6) at the plate with two extra-base hits. She also registered her first career home run and multi-RBI game. Conover had four runs batted in after the two contests against Seton Hall, two in each game. She had three career RBI entering the season.
Conover has two multi-hit games in her career with both of them coming this season. Before going 2-for-3 with a double in Bucknell's 4-0 (5 inn.) win against Seton Hall, she hit 2-for-5 with a double in the team's season opener vs. St. Bonaventure. The Bison also won that contest, 8-7 in eight innings. Conover is batting a team-best .375 (6-16) in five games this season.
Bucknell's shutout over Seton Hall last weekend was its first series win against the Pirates in program history. The Bison will have the chance to collect some more series firsts next week as they have never faced any of their five upcoming opponents, who are all members of the Southland or Southwest Athletic conferences.
Houston Baptist enters the weekend at 5-5 with three games in its Southland Conference opener scheduled before meeting with the Bison. The Huskies won each of their first four games this spring, three of them in just five innings. They have dropped five of their last six by a combined score of 37-14, however. Their only win in the current skid was a 3-2 decision over Texas Southern, Bucknell's final opponent during the trip.
Sisters Lauren and Kristen Schwirtlich are both hitting better than .350 to lead Houston Baptist, and freshman Kristen is tops in RBI with 16. All four Huskies pitchers have at least one win and three of them have registered at least 10 strikeouts on the year.
Bucknell will then head to Beaumont, Texas to face Lamar. The Cardinals also kick off their Southland Conference schedule this weekend, putting their 8-11 record to the test. Lamar has won three of their last four, including a recent sweep of Prairie View A&M in a doubleheader by scores of 2-0 and 24-1 in five innings.
This season marks Lamar's first since the program was discontinued in 1987. It has gotten off to a respectable start with its eight wins, half of which have gone to Tina Shulz with a 4-2 record and a 3.55 ERA. Candyce Carter is the Cardinals' only batter at better than .300, going 19-for-50 at the plate this spring.
Wednesday's action will involve a trip across the border to Lake Charles, La., for a doubleheader with McNeese State. The Cowgirls start their weekend with a 16-7 overall record having won their last three against Texas Tech (1-0, 8 inn.), Northern Colorado (9-7) and Jackson State (8-4).
McNeese State has four players batting better than .300, including Emily Vincent at .382 (21-55). In the pitchers' circle, Meagan Bond returns from a 2012 campaign that saw her go 16-8. She is now 7-2 with a 1.27 ERA and 60 strikeouts. As a team, the Cowgirls' earned run average stands at just 1.87 and they have struck out a combined 149 opposing batters.
After a day off, the Bison will return to Texas for a meeting with the 3-3 Prairie View A&M Panthers on March 15. They opened the season with a doubleheader sweep over Huston-Tillotson and have since won just a 6-4 decision over Our Lady of the Lake.
Cally Falls has gotten the bulk of the Panthers' work in the circle, throwing 20.0 of her team's 37.0 innings. She has a 2-2 record and a 1.75 ERA to show for her effort, although the team's earned run average stands at 6.24.
The trip ends with a doubleheader at Texas Southern on March 16. The Tigers will play two against Northwood this weekend but enter play with a 9-5 record. They have won three of their last four, most recently splitting a doubleheader with Houston Baptist.
Texas Southern has been getting some of its best stats from Thomasina Garza and Jessica Haynes. Garza enters the weekend with a .511 (24-47) batting average, including eight doubles, two triples and two home runs. Her 24 RBI also lead the team, and Texas Southern is the only Bucknell opponent on the trip that is currently hitting better than .300 as a team (.343). Haynes is 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA in three pitching appearances. Rebecca Villareal has also been putting up solid numbers for the Tigers with a 4-3 record to go along with her 1.83 ERA.
Bucknell will recuperate from the long trip with a six-game homestand, its first of the season. The Bison will host Drexel in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. on March 27 at Becker Field. Lehigh will then make the trip to Lewisburg for the Patriot League opener March 30-31.
