Bucknell University Athletics
Softball Hosts First-Place Lehigh for Three Games This Weekend
4/29/2016 12:10:00 PM | Softball
***The Bison Fun Zone, which includes inflatables, free pizza and face painting, will be located at West Fields for Saturday's games. Click the following link for more information. BISON FUN ZONE***
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell softball team has already clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament and will now look to improve its seed as it hosts first-place Lehigh for a three-game series at Becker Field this weekend. The Bison's final series of the regular season will include a doubleheader on Saturday at noon and a single game on Sunday at noon.
Bucknell was battling for one of the four spots in the league's postseason tournament before sweeping Colgate last weekend, improving to 26-19 overall and 10-5 in the Patriot League. The series included complete-game shutouts by senior Amanda Fazio in each of the final two contests as she lowered her ERA to 1.72.
Both Fazio and senior Dana Nielsen made the 118th pitching appearance of their careers in the series against Colgate, passing Christie West (2005-08) for the most in program history. Fazio recorded 14 strikeouts over two games, upping her school-record total to 457.
Sophomore Meghan Kovac was named the Patriot League Player of the Week, which was sparked by home runs in wins over Saint Francis and Colgate. With the Bison trailing 3-0 in the first game against the Raiders, she hit a grand slam to lift the Bison to a 4-3 win. Kovac's 18 doubles are a single-season record for Bucknell. She also ranks second in RBIs (39), third in hits (64), and sixth in home runs (6), while her current batting average (.410) would rank ninth.
Junior Chaylen Andolino was a perfect 6-for-6 at the plate with a home run, double and four RBIs in the two shutouts over Colgate. She and senior Mariah Midyette have been hitting their stride at the perfect time for the Bison. Midyette has at least one hit in 17 of the past 21 games to raise her average to .308.
Lehigh, the defending champion and preseason favorite in the Patriot League, enters the weekend at 31-12 overall and 9-2 in the Patriot League following a doubleheader split at Boston University on Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks have won five of their past seven games.
Led by Preseason All-Patriot League selection Morgan Decker, who is hitting .423, Lehigh leads the conference in batting (.305), slugging (.409), on-base percentage (.388), and walks (125). Joining Decker on the Preseason All-League Team for the Mountain Hawks were Alexis Watanabe, Christine Campbell, and Nicole Yozzo. Campbell was voted the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Lehigh leads 84-39 in the all-time series after winning all five meetings last season, including two in the Patriot League Tournament. Bucknell's last win was a 3-1 victory in the 2014 conference tournament. Fazio pitched a shutout in that game, giving up three hits and no walks while striking out three batters.
Following this weekend's series, the Bison will be off until the Patriot League Tournament on May 12-14. Four teams – Lehigh, Army West Point, Bucknell and Boston University – are still in contention to be the host site for the tournament.
