Bucknell University Athletics
Five Bison Selected to Softball All-Patriot League Team
5/7/2014 1:18:00 PM | Softball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell softball team opens up play in the 2014 Patriot League Tournament on Thursday afternoon, but on Wednesday six individual members of the squad were honored for their exceptional performances this season with selections to the All-Patriot League team. Junior Cydnee Sanders (Magnolia, Texas/Magnolia West), who was selected as the softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday, earned first team honors, while junior Kristen Zahn (Readington, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional), sophomore Cheyanna Young (Corona, Calif./Corona), freshman Jacee Almond (Concord, Calif./Clayton Valley Charter) and freshman Lara Bean (Alvin, Texas/Alvin) were all placed on the second team. Bucknell's five selections is its highest since the 2008 season.
Sanders, who was voted to the Preseason All-Patriot League team earlier in the spring, earned a spot on the Patriot League's first team at shortstop for the second consecutive season. She has started in all 45 of Bucknell's games and currently leads the Patriot League and ranks sixth in the nation with her .464 batting average. The junior, who has tallied at least one hit in 39 contests this season, also ranks among the top ten in the conference in hits (first - 71), runs scored (tied for first - 41), doubles (second - 15), total bases (second - 91), slugging percentage (third - .595), on-base percentage (third - .494) and RBI (10th - 26). A member of the team's Leadership Council, Sanders has already broken the Bucknell softball single-season record with 71 hits, tied the mark for doubles with 15 and is just four runs away from surpassing the single-season record in that category. On Tuesday, she earned the conference's softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, as well as her second consecutive selection to the Academic All-Patriot League team.
Zahn, who joined Sanders on this year's Academic All-Patriot League team for a second consecutive season, is now a two-time second team All-Patriot League honoree for her impressive play in center field and her powerful hitting. The junior has also started in all 45 of Bucknell's games and currently ranks second among the Bison with her .371 batting average. She has a team-best 31 RBI and six home runs, and ranks among the top ten in the Patriot League in home runs (third – 6), slugging percentage (fourth - .591), on-base percentage (fifth - .451), RBI (fifth – 32), runs scored (seventh – 33), batting average (seventh - .371) and total bases (eighth – 78). A member of the team's Leadership Council, she has tallied hits in 31 of Bucknell's games, and is just three home runs and five RBI away from surpassing the program's single-season records in those categories. Additionally, on March 4 she became the first Bison to earn Patriot League Player of the Week honors in four years.
Young earned her first All-Patriot League honor for her work as Bucknell's catcher, starting 28 of the team's 45 games in that role. The sophomore also made 10 appearances as the designated player. She has recorded 22 hits in 101 at-bats for a .218 hitting percentage, and ranks fifth on the team with eight doubles this season. Behind the plate, Young has helped to guide a young pitching staff for the majority of the season and currently ranks ninth in the Patriot League with 140 putouts while compiling a .988 fielding percentage.
Almond, who is also a member of the team's Leadership Council, has made a significant impact on the Bison infield and hitting rotation over the course of her rookie season and earned a spot on the second team at second base. She currently ranks third on the team and ninth in the Patriot League with her .351 batting average, and also ranks among the top ten in the conference in home runs (tied for fourth – 5), doubles (tied for fourth – 12), slugging percentage (sixth - .534), total bases (tied for sixth – 79), on-base percentage (ninth - .402) and hits (tied for ninth – 52). She has received two Patriot League Rookie of the Week awards this season, and has recorded hits in 33 of the 44 games in which she has played.
Bean, Bucknell's final selection to the All-Patriot League squad, earned her spot on the strength of her pitching performances this season. The rookie came in as the sole freshman pitcher in the team's rotation, and has made 15 starts and 24 appearances. She currently has a team-best 8-5 record on the season, and has compiled a 2.76 ERA over 91.1 innings pitched. Bean, who has an outstanding 5-1 record and 1.97 ERA in Patriot League action, currently ranks among the top ten in the conference in 12 categories, including opposing batting average (first - .196), doubles allowed (first – 4), batters struck out looking (tied for third – 27), hits allowed (fourth – 64), runs allowed (tied for sixth – 45), ERA (seventh – 2.76), earned runs allowed (seventh – 36), and wins (tied for seventh – 8).
Bucknell enters the 2014 Patriot League Tournament as the third-seed and will open play on Thursday against second-ranked Boston University at 12:35 p.m. Lehigh will host the tournament as the top seed and will broadcast all of the action on the Patriot League Network.
2014 Softball Major Awards/All-Patriot League Team
Player of the Year - Morgan Decker, Lehigh
Pitcher of the Year - Emily Bausher, Lehigh
Defensive Player of the Year - Alexis Watanabe, Lehigh
Rookie of the Year - Brittany Younan, Boston University
Coach of the Year - Fran Troyan, Lehigh
First Team All-League
1B - Cassie Waggy, Lehigh, Jr.
2B - Alexis Watanabe, Lehigh, So.
SS - Cydnee Sanders, Bucknell, Jr.
3B - Morgan Decker, Lehigh, So.
C - Mariel Schlaefer, Colgate, So.
DP - Lauren Hynes, Boston University, So.|
OF - Amanda Nguyen, Army, Sr.
OF - Jayme Mask, Boston University, Sr.
OF - Vicky Lattanzio, Lehigh, Fr.
P - Melanie Russell, Boston University, So.
P - Emily Bausher, Lehigh, Jr.
At-large - Jessica Calvini, Lehigh, So.
Second Team All-League
1B - Chelsea Kehr, Boston University, Sr.
2B - Jacee Almond, Bucknell, Fr.
SS - Emma Capetz, Lehigh, Jr.
3B - Kasey McCravey, Army, So.
C - Cheyanna Young, Bucknell, So.
DP - Colleen Ahern, Holy Cross, So.
OF - Moriah Connolly, Boston University, Fr.
OF - Kristen Zahn, Bucknell, Jr.
OF - Katie Bushee, Colgate, Fr.
P - Caroline Smith, Army, Fr.
P - Lara Bean, Bucknell, Fr.
At-large - Brittany Younan, Boston University, Fr.
