Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Southern Illinois
Softball Beats Niagara, Falls to Southern Illinois on Second Day of Rebel Games
3/9/2015 11:40:00 PM | Softball
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Bucknell softball split a pair of games for the second straight day at the Rebel Spring Games, falling 8-1 to Southern Illinois before rolling to a 10-5 win over Niagara in the second game.
The Bison improved to 12-8 with their win over Niagara. They will play the Purple Eagles again on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., and will follow that with a game against Northern Illinois at 4:45 p.m.
Southern Illinois 8, Bucknell 1
The game was tied 1-1 before Southern Illinois pulled away with a six-run sixth inning. Bucknell, which was playing without starting shortstop Cydnee Sanders, had eight hits in the game but left eight runners on base.
Trailing 1-0, the Bison tied the game with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore Jacee Almond drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Amanda Fazio. She advanced to third on a single by senior Kristen Zahn and later scored on a two-out double by freshman Meghan Kovac.
The score remained tied until Southern Illinois' big sixth inning. The Salukis tacked on a run in the seventh and improved to 5-9-1 with the win.
Kovac and Fazio led the Bison with two hits apiece. Almond, Zahn, sophomore Jacklyn Tyburk and freshman Madeline Minneci each had one hit.
Shaye Harre led the Salukis' offensive attack, going 3-for-5 with two doubles. Brook Womack had three singles and drove in three runs.
Bucknell 10, Niagara 5
The Bison bounced back with a 10-5 win over Niagara in the second game of the day, fueled by eight runs over the second and third innings.
Eight batters combined for 13 hits for the Bison, led by Fazio with three singles and two RBIs. She has reached base in 12 straight games and has a six-game hitting streak.
Freshman Kamille Larrabee, Minneci and Kovac had two hits apiece, with Larrabee and Minneci driving in a run and Kovac scoring twice. Zahn, senior Erin Cox and sophomore Chaylen Andolino each doubled, while Almond singled and drove in two runs.
Fazio pitched four scoreless innings of relief to tally her league-leading eighth win of the season. She gave up one hit, walked one batter and struck out two. She lowered her ERA to 3.79 and has 60 strikeouts to just 19 walks in 61 innings of work.
