Unbeaten Softball Ready for Tough Competition at Pirate Clash

***UPDATE -- The schedule has changed for the Pirate Clash at East Carolina this weekend. The Bison will now play East Carolina at 3 p.m. and East Tennessee State at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, and Marshall at 9 a.m. and Towson at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell softball puts its perfect 4-0 record on the line as it travels to East Carolina University for the 2015 Pirate Clash this weekend. The Bison are set to play East Carolina on Friday and East Tennessee State and Marshall on Saturday, but the schedule is subject to change.

“We are excited to get outside for the first time this season,” said Bucknell head coach Bonnie Skrenta. “The level of competition at this event will be very high. We will get a good idea of where we are at as a team.”

Starting the season 4-0 for the first time since 1988 is an accomplishment in itself, but the way the Bison got there only added to the level of excitement. They rolled to wins over Canisius and Bowling Green on the first day, with the second game going late into the night. With little rest, the team came back to play an 8:30 a.m. game on the second day and posted a 4-3 victory over Toledo, which was followed by a 6-5 win over Robert Morris. The final two games were both decided with runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Senior Erin Cox was named the 5^th Quarter Fresh Bison Athlete of the Week after going 7-for-11 with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs in Cleveland. Freshman Meghan Kovac tallied five hits over the four games, while seniors Kristen Zahn and Cydnee Sanders, junior Cheyanna Young, and freshman Jacee Almond had four apiece.

Junior Amanda Fazio pitched a complete game to pick up the win against Robert Morris. The other three wins were all earned in relief, including two by freshman Taylor Langtry and one by junior Dana Nielsen.

East Carolina, which received votes in the most recent ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll, enters the weekend with a 5-1 record after winning another event it hosted, the Pirate Classic, during the season-opening weekend. The Pirates notched two wins over Oakland and one over South Carolina, Delaware State and Longwood. Their lone loss was to the Gamecocks.

East Tennessee State is 2-4 overall, but is coming off a doubleheader sweep at Gardner-Webb. Through six games, the Bucs are paced by Taylor Carter with a .500 batting average (8-16), with two doubles and four RBIs. Latosha Rectenwald has homered twice.

Marshall opened its season with a perfect 5-0 record at the Charleston Challenge, including a 10-4 win over Army. The Thundering Herd added wins over College of Charleston, Bethune Cookman, UMass Lowell, and UNC Greensboro, while outscoring its opponents 26-6.