Softball Evens Record with Wins Over UNCW and North Carolina Central

2/27/2016 11:20:00 PM | Softball

By: TBD

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Bucknell softball team evened its record at 4-4 on the year with a pair of wins Saturday on the second day of the Seahawk Softball Classic. The Bison opened the day with a 12-4 win over the host UNCW team, and made it two in a row with an easy 8-0 shutout in six innings over North Carolina Central.

Bucknell's top two starting pitchers each posted a win on the day, with Dana Nielsen picking up the victory in the first game and Amanda Fazio recording the win in game two.

Sophomore Meghan Kovac extended her season-opening hitting streak to eight games with seven hits over the two games. She has gone 20-for-29 for a .690 average through the first eight games of the season. She has added two walks to give her a .710 on-base percentage.

The Bison had 25 hits combined in the two games. Fazio is batting .433 on the year, while junior Jacee Almond is hitting .417. The Bison are batting .292 as a team.

Chaylen Andolino had four hits on the day, including the first home run of her career.

'The team responded in a big way today,” said Bucknell head coach Courtnay Foster. “Andolino had a great day and helped get our offense back on track. Congrats to her on her first career home run.”

Bucknell 12, UNCW 4
Bucknell snapped UNCW's seven-game winning streak behind 17 hits. The Bison had no trouble hitting with runners on base this game, going 13-for-35, including 8-for-26 (.308) with runners in scoring position.

Bucknell led 4-0 after three innings, but UNCW tied the game with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Bison responded immediately with five runs in the fifth and added three more in the seventh. The win came just one day after the Seahawks won a matchup between the teams with a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Kovac's start to the season has been so good that her 2-for-4 game against UNCW on Friday actually dropped her batting average. She brought it back up with a 4-for-5 game in the win over the Seahawks on Saturday. One of those hits was a double, and she added a stolen base.

Fazio came through with three hits and drove in three runs. She was joined with three hits by Almond and Andolino. Christina Martinez singled twice, while Carolyn Wan and Anna Gimmestad added one single apiece.

Nielsen went the distance and gave up all of her runs in the same inning. She struck out five batters while improving to 2-1 on the season. She has a 3.20 ERA in four appearances.

Bucknell 8, North Carolina Central 0, 6 innings
The Bison cruised to their second win of the day, scoring eight runs on eight hits, five walks and one error in six innings. Andolino had the big hit of the game, smacking her home run in the team's six-run first inning. It was a two-run shot over the left-field wall.

The offense was there, but the pitching tandem of Fazio and Cindy Cherness didn't need much support. Fazio started and pitched five scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out six and walking none. Cherness came in and pitched a scoreless sixth inning, striking out one batter and walking one batter.

Fazio improved to 2-2 with a sparkling 1.35 ERA in six appearances this season. She has 24 strikeouts and has walked just five batters.

Kovac went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Freshman Ryanne Rokos had a pair of hits, including a double, Martinez had one double, and Lauren Hadley added a single. Martinez and Andolino drove in two runs apiece.