Bucknell University Athletics
Softball Opens Home Schedule with Two Games Against Saint Francis on Wednesday
3/24/2015 10:45:00 PM | Softball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell softball will play its first two home games of the season on Wednesday at Becker Field. The Bison will host Saint Francis for a doubleheader, with the first game scheduled for 3 p.m.
Bucknell enters Wednesday with a record of 16-10 after going 6-4 at the Rebel Spring Games in Winter Haven, Fla. The Bison have shown a significant improvement from where the team was at this point last season, when they were 11-15.
Last year's conference batting champion, Cydnee Sanders, is in the hunt to repeat. She ranks second in the league among players with more than five games played with an average of .421. She is joined near the top of the list by Amanda Fazio, who is fourth at .413. Fazio has been terrific on the basepaths, recording a league-leading 19 stolen bases .
The Bison lead the league in numerous individual statistical categories, including runs (Sanders, 21), hits (Sanders, 32), RBIs (Kristen Zahn, 25), doubles (Erin Cox, 6), home runs (Cox and Zahn, 4), hit by pitch (Zahn, 7) and sacrifice bunts (Fazio, 7).
Bucknell's success hasn't been limited to just offense, as Fazio and Nielsen have given the team a quality 1-2 punch in the circle to this point in the season. Fazio has a conference-leading 10 wins and leads all pitchers with 85 strikeouts, including 26 looking. Nielsen is 3-2 on the year while holding opposing hitters to a .237 batting average.
Saint Francis comes to Lewisburg with a record of 17-5 after winning 10 of their past 11 games. Included in that stretch was a doubleheader sweep of Maryland. Bucknell and the Red Flash played one game last season, a 9-6 win for the Bison in Loretto.
Following the two non-conference games, the Bison are scheduled to open Patriot League play at home against Colgate with two games on Saturday and one on Sunday.
