Bucknell University Athletics
Softball Heads to Happy Valley on Wednesday for Doubleheader with Penn State
3/31/2015 11:39:00 PM | Softball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell softball will make the short trip to University Park for a doubleheader with Penn State on Wednesday. The first game is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Beard Field.
Bucknell is 19-12 overall after going 1-2 against Colgate in its first Patriot League series of the year. The Bison rallied for an 8-6 win in game one on Saturday, before dropping both games of a doubleheader on Sunday. They were victims of the long ball in the two defeats, giving up two home runs in the first game, and a go-ahead three-run blast in the second contest.
Kristen Zahn paced the Bison offensively over the weekend, going 5-for-11 with two doubles and three RBIs. She is now batting .326 on the year and shares the team lead with nine doubles. Erin Cox upped her season average to .276 by going 4-for-8 at the plate. She hit her seventh doubles of the season and drove in a pair of runs.
Bucknell was aggressive on the basepaths in the three games against Colgate, stealing 10 bases on 11 attempts. Amanda Fazio had two of the stolen bases to give her 21 on 25 attempts this season. She has six more than any other player in the conference and ranks fourth on the program's single-season record book. She is just four stolen bases away from setting a new team record, with 20 regular season games and the postseason still to play.
Dana Nielsen recorded the lone win for Bucknell against Colgate. She gave up one unearned run in 1 2/3 innings of relief in the series opener, registering her fifth win of the season. She has 45 strikeouts and 13 walks on the year.
Penn State has won the past four games in the series with Bucknell. The Bison's last win over the Nittany Lions came in 2007.
Penn State is 17-16 with wins in four of its past five games. The Lions took two from Robert Morris and two from Michigan State before the four-game winning streak was halted by the Spartans on Sunday. They are led at the plate by Macy Jones, who hits .347 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs. Jones also has the team's best ERA at 2.69 in nine appearances.
Following the doubleheader at Penn State, Bucknell will continue its five-game road stretch with a three-game series at Lehigh. The Bison are scheduled for two games in Bethlehem on Saturday and one on Sunday.
