Softball Opens 2019 Season at LSU's Tiger Classic

Friday, February 8

Baton Rouge, La.

11:30 a.m.

Bucknell University

Iowa

Softball Opens 2019 Season at LSU's Tiger Classic

2/6/2019 8:31:00 PM | Softball

Setting the Scene
What: Tiger Classic
Where: Tiger Park (Baton Rouge, La.)
When: Feb. 8-10

Bucknell Schedule (All Times EST)
Friday, Feb. 8
11:30 a.m. | vs. Iowa | Live Stats
2 p.m. | vs. Tulsa | Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 9
2 p.m. | vs. Tulsa | Live Stats
7 p.m. | at LSU | Live Stats | Watch Live ($)
Sunday, Feb. 10
12 p.m. | at LSU | Live Stats | Watch Live ($)

About the Bison
• Bucknell opens the 2019 season with a tough but exciting slate of games when it travels to Baton Rouge to play in LSU's Tiger Classic. The Bison will play five games – Iowa once, Tulsa twice, LSU twice – over three days from Friday to Sunday.
• Fans can watch both games against LSU on SECN+, which is available with an ESPN+ monthly subscription.
• The Bison had two players voted Preseason All-Patriot League. Junior Raeanne Geffert earned the preseason honor for a second consecutive year, while senior Lauren Hadley landed a spot on the team for the first time in her career.
• Hadley wasn't voted Preseason All-Patriot League last season but then finished second in Patriot League Player of the Year voting at the end of the season.
• Bucknell returns three of its four All-Patriot League players from last season. Geffert and Hadley each made the First Team, while junior Julienne Egofske was voted to the Second Team.
• Last season, the Bison offense led the Patriot League in doubles (71), home runs (36), slugging (.423), and walks (138). Individually, they had three players in the top six in home runs. Hadley was second with nine, while Taylor Wolfgang was sixth with five homers in her rookie season.
• Geffert was top three in the Patriot League in ERA (2.07), wins (18), innings pitched (192.1), and strikeouts (153).
• The Bison tied with Lehigh for second in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. Boston University was picked first, while Army West Point was voted fourth out of seven teams.

Scouting the Opponents
• Iowa went 21-32 overall and 6-16 in the Big Ten last season, but added Donirae Mayhew, the Junior College National Player of the Year last year. Junior pitcher Allison Doocy was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection last season.
• Tulsa, which went 34-25 overall and 10-11 in the American Athletic Conference (AAC), won the AAC Tournament to qualify for an NCAA Regional. The Golden Hurricane went 1-2 in the Regional, including a win over Missouri in their opener. They are the three-time defending champions in the AAC and played in the NCAA Norman Regional all three years.
• LSU is a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament, including an appearance in an NCAA Super Regional last season. The Tigers are currently ranked 11^th in the nation. Junior outfielder Aliyah Andrews and graduate transfer infielder Amanda Sanchez were voted Preseason All-SEC.

Series History with the Opponents
• Bucknell is 0-1 all-time against LSU, losing the only meeting in 1998. The Bison have never played Iowa or Tulsa.

Up Next
• The Bison head to Lynchburg, Virginia, to play five games at the Liberty Softball Challenge on Feb. 22-24. They will play Valparaiso, Delaware State, Wright State, Liberty, and Princeton.

BISON LOOK TO CONTEND FOR PATRIOT LEAGUE TITLE IN SECOND SEASON UNDER HEAD COACH JOEY LYE

Bucknell head coach Joey Lye added a strong recruiting class to a team that already had one of the best pitchers in the league and a strong lineup as she gets set to open her second season with the Bison softball program.

Lye wasted little time in getting Bucknell back near the top of the Patriot League, guiding the Bison to a second-place finish in her first regular season and a return to the conference tournament after the team had missed postseason play the year before. The Bison were in contention to win hosting rights for the tournament, with the regular season champion being decided between Bucknell and Boston University in the final series of the season.

That final series was played in Boston, but it will be played in Lewisburg this season, a fact that bodes well for the Bison should it come down to the final weekend yet again. Of course, Lehigh and Army West Point may have something to say about that. Both teams were in the league tournament last season and return their top pitchers.

In fact, all four teams return their top pitchers, but Lye would put her ace up against any of them. Junior Raeanne Geffert is a two-time All-Patriot League selection, including First Team recognition last season. She already ranks seventh in program history in career strikeouts with 270 through two seasons and ranks eighth with 32 wins. Her current 2.13 ERA would be the seventh-best all-time at Bucknell.

Geffert has shown great command of her pitches early in her career, posting those 270 strikeouts while handing out just 44 walks. She has worked on adding a second off-speed pitch to the arsenal this season.

Lauren Lichtenwalner returns as the team's No. 2 pitcher. The junior, who also contributes with her bat, has a career 3.36 ERA in 141.2 innings of work. Freshman Violet Matlock and sophomore Sarah Magro will also see time in the circle.

The Bucknell pitching staff will see some new faces at catcher this season. Sophomore Taylor Wolfgang took on a heavy workload last year, and while she may see some time behind the plate this year, she will spend most of her time at first base or in the designated player spot in the lineup. A pair of freshman will vie for the starting nod at catcher as Nicole Rivait and Ava Fairbanks will both see time.

Rivait brings a wealth of international playing experience to the Bison, along with fellow freshman Allyse Volpe. Both were on the Waterloo Ghosts, which won the 19U Canadian national title, and both were on the Canadian Junior National Team that placed fourth in the world. Rivait also joined Lye as an invitee to the 2019 Canadian National Team Selection Camp.

Rivait will also see time at third base, as will Halie Mariano, Jess Hom, Wolfgang, and Jazmyn Stokes. The outlook at third base depends on the recovery from an injury by Marisa Alemany, who started the majority of the games there last season.

On the other side of the infield, Wolfgang and Julienne Egofske, a Second Team All-Patriot League selection at designated player last season, will both see time at first base. Alemany will work in at the position, as will freshman Sarah Baluch, who will also be a strong bat off the bench as a pinch-hitter.

The Bison will have the same two starters up the middle for the fourth consecutive season as Lauren Hadley returns for her final season at second base and Anna Gimmestad does the same at shortstop. Hadley was a Patriot League Player of the Year candidate last season after hitting .370 with 10 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 37 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases.

"It's exciting for us to know how much experience we have in the middle," Lye said. "Anna and Lauren are both hard workers and strong leaders. They don't take any single game or practice for granted. They continue to push each other and push their teammates to get better."

The duo will also hit in the heart of the order with Hadley batting third and Gimmestad likely in the cleanup spot. That will allow Gimmestad to take a different approach at the plate after hitting second most of last season.

The starting outfield looks like it will be sophomore Tara Baglivo in left, Volpe in center, and senior Ryanne Rokos in right. Lye lauded the defensive ability of the group as all three have experience in center and can cover a lot of ground, a huge plus for a team that has a large outfield for its home games.

Volpe will also serve as the team's leadoff hitter and should make an immediate impact with her speed and skills at the plate.

"She can hit on the ground and beat it out, she can drive the ball to the gap, and she can lay down a bunt," Lye said. "We're hoping she will be on base a lot for us and then we can put the pressure on the defense with her speed."

Rivait, Mariano, and Hom could all see time in the outfield, while sophomore Jordan Trimiew and freshman Bella DeRiso will provide depth.

Boston University was picked first in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, while Bucknell and Lehigh tied for second. Army West Point was voted fourth in the seven-team field.

"I would be surprised if it doesn't come down to the last weekend again," Lye said. "That could be a really exciting opportunity for us. Hopefully the tough non-conference schedule we put together and the bigger stages we will be playing on will help us be ready for that kind of pressure."

That tough non-conference schedule begins this weekend as the Bison play five games at the LSU Tiger Classic. They will play one game against Iowa, which has the reigning JUCO National Player of the Year, two games against defending American Athletic Conference champion Tulsa, and two games against perennial national power LSU.

The non-conference slate also includes tournaments at Liberty, Georgetown, Stanford, and Saint Mary's.

The season starts a week earlier for the Bison, but Lye and assistant coaches Matt Burns and Ketarah Devries, all feel more comfortable as they enter their second season with the team.

"Last season we were still trying to figure things out this time of year. Coming into this year it just felt like we were settled in and could coach and focus on the team a little more," Lye said. "We're lucky to have a great group of players. They work hard and make it fun to come to work every day. I feel very fortunate to be a part of a program like this."