Bucknell University Athletics
Kovac Voted to Preseason All-Patriot League Softball Team
2/8/2017 1:52:00 PM | Softball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell's Meghan Kovac was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Softball Team, as released by the conference office on Wednesday. The junior makes her first appearance on the 12-player preseason squad, which was decided by a vote of the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
The preseason poll projecting the league standings was also released, and Bucknell was picked to finish fourth with 43 points. The poll shows how competitive the league is expected to be this season. Lehigh is the preseason favorite with six first-place votes and 66 points, while Army West Point was picked second by the narrowest of margins, receiving five first-place votes and 64 points. Defending champion Boston University (55 points) received the other three first-place votes and finished third. Rounding out the poll in fifth through seventh were Colgate (29), Holy Cross (21), and Lafayette (16).
Kovac was First Team All-Patriot League and an ECAC All-Star selection after an outstanding sophomore season last year. She led the team in multiple categories, including average (.399), home runs (6), RBIs (40), and doubles (20). She smashed Bucknell's previous single-season record of 15 doubles and her 67 hits were the second most in program history. Her RBI total was also the second best in team history.
After two seasons, Kovac has a career batting average of .340, which currently ranks ninth on the team's all-time list. She is on pace to crush the school's career record of 47 doubles, currently ranking ninth with 30.
Head coach Courtnay Foster enters her second season at Bucknell, which went 27-23 overall and 11-7 in the conference last year. The Bison went on to qualify for the Patriot League Tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
The Bison open the 2017 season with five games at the Gardner-Webb Tournament on Feb. 17-19. They will play two games against Hampton, two against the host Runnin' Bulldogs, and one against Seton Hall.
