Bucknell University
Colgate
Bucknell Softball Opens with 7-0 Shutout, Splits Doubleheader at Colgate
4/6/2013 8:00:00 AM | Softball
April 6, 2013
HAMILTON, N.Y. - Bucknell softball got its first win against Colgate since the 2010 Patriot League Championships, winning 7-0 on a strong pitching performance from Amanda Fazio in game one at Eaton Street Field on Saturday afternoon. The Bison (9-22, 2-4 PL) later dropped game two in extra innings, 3-2. The series with the Raiders (8-18, 303 PL) continues at noon tomorrow.
For the second consecutive game, Fazio was responsible for a shutout. On Saturday Fazio combined with Cindy Cherness to blank the Raiders but did the bulk of the work, allowing three hits in 6.0 innings. She also struck out five as she collected her sixth win on the year.
In her previous outing against La Salle on Tuesday, Fazio pitched a two-hit shutout to give Bucknell a 7-0 win in Philadelphia.
Colgate had its chances against Fazio and Cherness, stranding six on the base paths in game one. The Raiders even put one in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, but Cherness got out of trouble with a long fly out and a strikeout to end the game.
Bucknell totaled 10 hits in the opener, including two in the second inning. The second was a big one too, as Colie Escobar homered to center field. That also scored Cheyanna Young, who had reached on a fielder's choice and gave Bucknell a 2-0 lead.
That two-run advantage held up for the game, but the Bison really blew it open in the top of the seventh. Bucknell sent 10 batters to the plate and added five more runs to put them in a comfortable position for the win.
Six of the team's 10 hits came in the seventh and all of them were singles. Cassie Greenhawk's slap bunt down the third base line scored the first, plating Young, and Cydnee Sanders followed with a two-RBI single to left center field. Sanders' shot forced Colgate's Courtney O'Connell from the game, but reliever Brigit Ieuter did little to stop the momentum. Ieuter gave up a two-RBI single to Erin Cox and a single to Kristen Zahn before recording the final out.
O'Connell (3-7) took the loss for Colgate, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits in 6.2 innings of work. She struck out four and walked three.
The win gave Bucknell its first over Colgate in three years. The last time a matchup with the Raiders went in the Bison's favor was in the 2010 Patriot League Championship when Bucknell won two straight in comeback fashion to earn its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
The hitting numbers evened out in the nightcap, but Colgate had some bit ones that gave them a 2-0 lead early on. Jennifer Martin and Mariel Schlaefer homered in the second and fourth innings, respectively, to score the team's first runs on the day.
Bucknell pitcher Dana Nielsen made it through the fourth inning before giving way to Fazio to start the fifth. Fazio then pitched three more scoreless innings before the Raiders cracked the code on the freshman. Haley Fleming led off the eighth frame with a double and eventually scored on an RBI single up the middle from Natalie Siedhof.
By the end of the day, Fazio's season record stood at 6-11. In the loss, she went 3.2 innings with one run on three hits. Nielsen allowed two runs on five hits in her start.
Bucknell was forced to play a bit of catch-up in game two after falling behind 2-1. Sanders connected for a two-RBI double in the first inning to plate the Bison's first run, but the bats went quiet for the next few frames. It wasn't until Young led off the fifth with a double of her own that the offense started making noise again. Young moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt from Escobar and scored on a long single from Courtney Conover to knot things up late in the day.
Megan Carnase (2-5) earned the win for Colgate with her complete game. The freshman gave up two runs on eight hits and finished with six strikeouts.
