Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Softball has Five Honored by Patriot League
5/7/2013 8:00:00 AM | Softball
May 7, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Just days ahead of the postseason tournament, Bucknell softball received several Patriot League honors on Tuesday. Cydnee Sanders (Magnolia, Texas/Magnolia West) received First Team All-Patriot League accolades, while Kristen Zahn (Readington, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional), Erin Cox (La Quinta, Calif./La Quinta) and Amanda Fazio (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) were named to the Second Team. Sanders, Zahn and Cassie Greenhawk (Oxford, Md./Easton) were also Academic All-Patriot League honorees.
Bucknell's four all-league citations are the most since 2010. That was also the last year the Bison advanced to the Patriot League Tournament. Third-seeded Bucknell will face No. 2 Army at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday in Bethlehem, Pa., in the first round of the double-elimination tournament. Bucknell won the 2010 title and earned its first-ever berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Bucknell has placed at least one player on the Patriot League First Team every season for the last nine years thanks to Sanders' honor. The sophomore shortstop is batting .321 on the year, good for second on the team. Her 19 runs scored is also second among Bison, while her 12 RBI ranks fourth. Defensively, Sanders has started 45 of her 46 games this year with all of her appearances coming at shortstop. Five of her eight stolen bases this season have come during Patriot League play.
Off the field, Sanders carries a 3.58 cumulative grade-point average as an anthropology major. She has been named to the Bucknell Dean's List every term and earned her first spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll last spring.
Zahn was Bucknell's other player to earn a spot on both the All-League and All-Academic teams. The sophomore leads Bucknell in hitting this season with a .341 average, giving her the No. 8 ranking in the Patriot League this spring. She has set career highs in power hitting this season with three home runs and two triples, while also ranking among the team's leaders in RBI (16), including 11 against Patriot League foes. The outfielder is also seventh in slugging percentage (.466) and first in triples (2) in league play.
Zahn has a 3.40 GPA as an accounting and financial management major. Already she has been named to the Bucknell Dean's List and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll once in her career.
Cox earned a nod to the Second Team as the designated player. The sophomore is hitting .274 on the year. She shares the team lead in home runs with four and is second in doubles with seven. Each of those numbers is a career high, as is her 18 RBI, which leads the Bison. Cox entered the season with just two runs batted in for her career. In Patriot League action, Cox ranks third in home runs (3), fourth in RBI (12) and ninth in slugging percentage (.438).
The only freshman pitcher to receive All-League honors, Fazio was named to the Second Team. The rookie is 10-13 with a 2.75 ERA this year. She also has three shutouts and leads Bucknell with 106 strikeouts while throwing 137.2 innings. In league play, Fazio has been even better with a 5-5 record in 11 appearances. She has a 2.02 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 17 walks in 59.0 innings of work. Fazio, who was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week once earlier this spring, is seventh in Patriot League play in ERA, fourth in wins, seventh in innings pitched and third in strikeouts.
Rounding out the Patriot League honors was Greenhawk, who was named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team. The senior has a 3.44 GPA as an environmental studies major. A three-time member of the Bucknell Dean's List, she has also been named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll all three seasons. Away from the classroom, Greenhawk was an education intern at the Environmental Concern in 2012 and an intern at the Horn Point Laboratory Oyster Hatchery at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in 2011.
On the field, Greenhawk leads the team in runs scored (28), walks (20), stolen bases (9-13) and sacrifice hits (11) this season. A starter in the outfield in 40 of 42 games this spring, she has set career highs in several categories. In Patriot League play, she holds the conference lead in runs and is tied for fourth in stolen bases and walks.
Bucknell's three Academic All-Patriot League citations led the league. No other team had more than two players recognized.
The Academic All-Patriot League Team was added for all sports beginning in the 2010-11 season to honor additional student-athletes for both academic and athletic success. This year's softball team has 10 student-athletes. Student-athletes must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA and be a starter or a key reserve. Award winners are determined by a vote of the league's sports information directors who cannot vote for their own athletes.
All-league teams and major awards are decided by a vote of Patriot League head coaches, who cannot vote for their own athletes.
Patriot League Major Awards
Player of the Year - Morgan Decker, Lehigh, Fr.
Pitcher of the Year - Rebecca Bliss, Lehigh, Sr.
Rookie of the Year - Morgan Decker, Lehigh, Fr.
Coach of the Year - Fran Troyan, Lehigh
Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Rosie Roessel, Lehigh, Sr.
First Team All-Patriot League*
1B - Sam Fregenti, Holy Cross, Sr.
1B - Cassie Waggy, Lehigh, So.
2B - Alex Reynolds, Army, Sr.
SS - Cydnee Sanders, Bucknell, So.
SS - Brittany Paul, Lafayette, Fr.
3B - Kasey McCravey, Army, Fr.
3B - Morgan Decker, Lehigh, Fr.
C - Liz Lucas, Lehigh, Sr.
C - Mariel Schlaefer, Colgate, Fr.
DP - Colleen Ahern, Holy Cross, Fr.
OF - Alana Dyson, Colgate, Sr.
OF - Rosie Roessel, Lehigh, Sr.
OF - Amanda Nguyen, Army, Jr.
P - Rebecca Bliss, Lehigh, Sr.
P - Emily Bausher, Lehigh, So.
*15 selections due to ties
Second Team All-Patriot League
2B - Alexis Watanabe, Lehigh, Fr.
DP - Erin Cox, Bucknell, So.
OF - Kristen Zahn, Bucknell, So.
OF - Christian McKone, Army, Fr.
OF - Emily Jarvis, Holy Cross, Fr.
P - Morgan Lashley, Army, So.
P - Amanda Fazio, Bucknell, Fr.
Academic All-Patriot League Team
Ali Cleinmark, Army, So.
Cassie Greenhawk, Bucknell, Sr.
Cydnee Sanders, Bucknell, So.
Kristen Zahn, Bucknell, So.
Emmie Dolfi, Colgate, Sr.
Eileen Ornousky, Colgate, Jr.
Alex Gustafson, Holy Cross, Jr.
Jordan Parsons, Lafayette, Sr.
Amy Gebhardt, Lafayette, Jr.
Rosie Roessel, Lehigh, Sr.
Emily Bausher, Lehigh, So.
