Bucknell University Athletics
Softball to Conclude Regular Season with Three-Game Series at Boston University
5/2/2014 4:14:00 PM | Softball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell softball team clinched its spot in the 2014 Patriot League Tournament last weekend with two wins at Colgate, but will look to solidify its seed this weekend when it concludes its regular season with a three-game series at Boston University . The Bison and the Terriers will meet for the first time and are set to play a doubleheader on Saturday at 12 p.m. before playing a single game at the same time on Sunday. Live stats will be available for all three contests.
The top four teams in the Patriot League will all battle each other this weekend to determine the site and seeding for the upcoming conference tournament. While Bucknell and Boston University will be competing in Boston, Lehigh and Army will square off in West Point, making this a big weekend for all four teams involved. Lehigh currently holds a one-game lead over Boston University with a 12-3 record, but the Terriers own the tiebreaker over the Mountain Hawks. Army and Bucknell both head into the weekend with a 9-6 record, but the Bison's 2-1 series win over the Black Knights in the beginning of the conference season gives them the tiebreaker. At this point, Bucknell is the only team that is mathematically unable to host the tournament.
Bucknell, which is 20-22 overall, most recently earned a pair of victories at Colgate, taking a 12-3 win in six innings in Saturday's second game and concluding the weekend with an 8-1 triumph on Sunday. The Bison currently have three players hitting over .300, led by junior Cydnee Sanders, who ranks third in NCAA Division I softball with a .483 average. Sanders, who has led the Patriot League in hitting for the duration of the season, was phenomenal last week, recording 10 hits in 16 at-bats for a .647 average. The junior has tallied at least one hit in 38 of Bucknell's 42 games this season and is in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak.
Sanders is joined by classmate Kristen Zahn (.372) and freshman Jacee Almond (.352) on the list of top-ten batters in the conference, as the trio of Bison rank first, sixth and seventh, respectively. Zahn ranks fourth in the conference with a .628 slugging percentage, one spot behind Sanders (.608), and has hit a team-best six home runs this season, while senior Mallory Lyons leads the conference and ranks fourth in the nation with 0.36 sacrifice hits per contest.
Sophomore Amanda Fazio is working her way back into Bucknell's young pitching rotation, earning both of the wins at Colgate last weekend. A first-team All-Patriot League selection last year, Fazio currently ranks sixth in the Patriot League with a 2.43 ERA. Sophomore relief pitcher Cindy Cherness continues to lead the conference with her impressive 1.94 ERA, while sophomore Dana Nielsen is tops in strikeouts with 100. Rookie Lara Bean has the ninth-best ERA with a 2.84 mark and the second-lowest opposing batting average, allowing her opponents to hit just .196.
Boston University, which enters the weekend in the midst of an 11-game winning streak, currently holds a 30-18 overall record and an 11-4 mark in Patriot League action. The Terriers earned two wins against both Lehigh and Army, and have swept both Colgate and Lafayette. The weekend will mark the first time that Bucknell has taken on the newest member of Patriot League softball in competition.
The Terriers' offense is led by the two of the top three hitters in the Patriot League, as Jayme Mask ranks second with a .400 average and Brittany Younan is third with her .393 mark. On the defensive end, all three of Boston University's pitchers have earned ample playing time, but Melanie Russell leads the way with an 8-3 record and a 2.21 ERA. Makinna Akers, who also has eight wins, is not far behind with her 2.29 average, while Lauren Hynes has made the most appearances for the Terriers, compiling a 14-13 record and a 3.54 ERA.
The Patriot League Tournament is scheduled to take place from Thursday, May 8 to Saturday, May 10 at the home field of the highest seed. The three-day double-elimination competition will feature two games on Thursday, with the No. 1 seed playing the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds also squaring off. The two winners and the two losers will play on Friday, with the 2-0 team moving on to the championship game and the 0-2 team being eliminated. The two 1-1 teams will play in an elimination game on Friday afternoon to earn the right to compete for the Patriot League title.
