Bucknell University Athletics
Softball Continues Road Stretch with Patriot League Series at Boston University
4/15/2016 1:16:00 PM | Softball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell softball continues its long stretch of road games with a three-game series at Boston University this weekend. The two teams will play in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon, and the final contest will be held at noon on Sunday.
The Bison (21-16, 6-3 PL) have won two of the three series against Patriot League foes this season. They are coming off four straight losses, but two of those came in a recent doubleheader at Penn State.
Penn State limited the Bison to just two runs of offense over the pair of matchups, winning game one 2-1 and securing game two 4-1. Dana Nielsen dropped to 8-5 on the season despite allowing just two runs in 6.1 innings in game one, while Mariah Midyette led the team with three hits on the day.
Bucknell will be looking to revitalize its offense against Boston University, who enters with an 11-18 record overall and 0-3 record in the Patriot League. The Terriers have won just one of their past seven games, so both schools will look to regain momentum in this weekend's series.
The Bison are 4-4 all-time versus the Terriers since Boston University joined the Patriot League for the 2014 season. The Terriers picked up four wins in 2014 over Bucknell, including two in the Patriot League Tournament, but the Bison swept their head-to-head series 3-0 in 2015.
As a team, Boston University posts a .283 batting average and 3.67 ERA, while Bucknell is hitting .298 and has a league-leading 2.58 ERA.
Several key offensive cogs have fueled the Bison offense thus far. Third baseman Meghan Kovac ranks second in the Patriot League and 19th nationally with a .439 batting average thanks to a hot start at the plate to begin the season. Amanda Fazio has also contributed, tallying 44 hits, 27 runs, and a conference-leading 21 stolen bases on the season.
On the mound, three Bison pitchers sit in the top five in the Patriot League in ERA – Fazio (1.79), Cindy Cherness (2.62), and Nielsen (2.70). Bucknell has struck out 174 batters in 246 innings of work.
Following the weekend series with Boston University, the Bison will stay on the road for a pair of mid-week contests versus Saint Francis. Both games will be held on Tuesday, with the first game of the doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.
