Bucknell University Athletics
Softball Opens Play in Patriot League Tournament on Thursday
5/7/2014 10:38:00 PM | Softball
About the Patriot League Tournament
Bucknell has had its sights set on the 2014 Patriot League Tournament for the entire year, and the squad is primed to battle for the championship title and automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament when action begins at Lehigh's Kaufman Field on Thursday. With a 10-8 final league tally, the Bison claimed the third seed and will take on No. 2 Boston University in a 2:35 p.m. matchup.
Top-seeded Lehigh will take on No. 4 Army in Thursday's other game, with the first pitch coming at 12:05 p.m. Live stats for all games in the double-elimination tournament will be available at lehighsports.com, and a free video broadcast of all of the contests will be provided by the Patriot League Network.
About the No. 1 Mountain Hawks
Lehigh needed the entire season to secure the number one seed in the 2014 Patriot League Tournament, as all three of the other teams competing this weekend nipped at the Mountain Hawks' heels for the duration of the league campaign. Lehigh headed to West Point, New York last weekend with the regular season title on the line and mananged a three-game sweep of Army, clinching the top seed and right to host the tournament.
Lehigh is 30-18 overall and 15-3 in the Patriot League this season, and the squad placed a league-high seven players on the All-Patriot League team. Cassie Waggy, Alexis Watanabe, Morgan Decker, VIcky Lattanzio, Emily Bausher and Jessica Calvini each earned first team honors, while Emma Capetz claimed a spot on the second team. In addition, Decker (Player of the Year), Bausher (Pitcher of the Year), Watanabe (Defensive Player of the Year) and head coach Fran Troyan (Coach of the Year) all received major awards from the conference.
About the No. 2 Terriers
Boston University fell just shot of earning the right to host the Patriot League Tournament in its first season in the conference, finishing the regular-season just two games behind Lehigh at 13-5 in the league standings. The Terriers were 32-19 overall in 2014. Boston University was on an 11-game winning streak heading into the final weekend of the regular season and extended their impressive total to 13 consecutive victories before Bucknell snapped it with a 9-1 win on Sunday.
The Terriers also accrued an impressive amount of Patriot League honors, placing Lauren Hynes, Jayme Mask and Melanie Russell on the first team. Chelsea Kehr, Moriah Connolly and Brittany Younan each garned second team recognition, and Younan was named the conference's Rookie of the Year.
About the No. 4 Black Knights
Army, the 2013 Patriot League champions, claimed the final spot in this year's tournament with their 9-9 conference record. The Black Knights, who are 22-26 overall, were most recently swept by the Mountain Hawks at home last weekend.
Three members of the squad were selected to the All-Patriot League team, with Amanda Nguyen taking first team honors while Kasey McCravey and Caroline Smith were each placed on the second team.
Bucknell vs. Lehigh
Bucknell trails Lehigh 79-38 in a series that dates back to 1979, and the Mountain Hawks managed to escape Lewisburg with two wins in early April. The teams split a doubleheader on Saturday, with the Bison rallying back from a 7-1 loss in the first game to take a 2-0 win in the second, but the visiting team clinched the series with a 2-0 victory on Sunday. The last time the two teams met in the post-season was in the first game of the 2010 conference tournament, the last year in which the Bison won the title, and Bucknell earned a 4-3 win in that contest.
Bucknell vs. Boston University
Prior to last weekend's three-game series, the Bison and the Terriers had never met on the softball field. Boston University put forth a strong performance in Saturday's doubleheader, taking two shutout wins, but Bucknell raillied back on Sunday, snapping the Terriers' 13-game winning streak with a 9-1 victory. The Bison will be looking to even the all-time series at 2-2 on Thursday afternoon.
Bucknell vs. Army
The Bison and the Black Knights both opened their Patriot League seasons on Becker Field in late March, and while Army holds a 52-33 edge in the all-time series, it was Bucknell that ended the weekend with two wins. The Black Knights took a 7-1 win in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, but the Bison followed that up with two 7-2 victories of their own, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, taking the series. The two teams met twice in last year's tournament, which Army ultimately won, with both one-run games ending in favor of the Black Knights.
The First Time
Bucknell won its first Patriot League Tournament Championship in 1997, and it did so in dramatic fashion. As the No. 2 seed, the Bison moved easily through their first two games, defeating Holy Cross, 4-2, and Lehigh, 1-0. They fell to Colgate, 5-2, but got a second chance in the championship game. The Orange and Blue made the most of the opportunity, taking down the Raiders, 4-1 in 19 innings. Melanie Kulis pitched 16 scoreless innings and gave up just seven hits in 19 innings, giving her co-MVP honors at the end of the tournament. Jenn Gombos broke a 1-1 tie in the 19th with a two-RBI triple.
The Last Time
Bucknell last won the conference tournament on May 15, 2010, twice coming from behind to defeat Colgate 4-3 (9 innings) and 6-4 on the final day of competition in West Point, New York. With its Patriot League Tournament success, Bucknell advanced to its first-ever NCAA Championship competition. In the Columbus, Ohio Regional on May 21-22, the Bison took on nationally-ranked California and the host Ohio State.
The Orange and Blue also have a piece of two regular-season titles in program history. They shared the title with the Mountain Hawks in 1994, and were co-champions with Lehigh, Colgate and Holy Cross in 1999.
