Softball Falls to 2-2 on the Weekend with Losses to Marist and UNCW

Sunday, February 20

Wilmington, N.C.

10 a.m.

Bucknell University

2-5

Marist

1-4

Bucknell

Marist

Softball Falls to 2-2 on the Weekend with Losses to Marist and UNCW

2/20/2022 3:47:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Bucknell softball team wrapped up the second day of the UNCW Invitational on Sunday, dropping games against Marist and UNCW after beating both teams on Saturday. The Bison were held off the scoreboard in game one against the Red Foxes, falling 3-0. Bucknell (2-6) led 3-0 in the second game against the Seahawks, but late Bison errors allowed UNCW to come from behind and win 6-4.

Eight different Bison posted hits on the day, while Chase Knapp, Kailyn Lorberter and Juliette Basso had multiple.

Senior Kelly Toomey and junior Kaiya Burton both made starts in the circle, and Toomey saw action in both games while posting seven strikeouts and allowing six hits in 5.2 innings of work.

As a team, the Bison committed five errors after posting just two in the two victories on Saturday.

Bucknell returns to North Carolina next weekend for five games in Greensboro. The weekend begins with matchups against Virginia and Loyola Chicago on Friday, Feb. 25.

Game One: Marist 3, Bucknell 0

Toomey cruised through the first three innings of game one against Marist, but a three-hit, three-run bottom of the fourth was enough for the Red Foxes to capture a 3-0 victory, as Bucknell struggled to produce any runs.

The Bison posted hits in the second, third, fourth and sixth innings but never saw more than one in any single frame. Lorberter went 2-for-3 at the plate, and both she and Basso doubled in the game.

Toomey allowed just two hits over the first three innings before Marist doubled once and homered twice in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead. Madison Roukey entered the circle in the fifth inning and gave up no hits the rest of the way. Toomey finished the game with six strikeouts, and Bucknell left six runners on base in the contest.

Marist's Meghan Haff pitched all seven innings and racked up nine strikeouts.

Game Two: UNCW 6, Bucknell 4

Bucknell's second game of the day was a wild back-and-forth affair that saw the lead change hands on three occasions. The Bison were in front through the first three innings after scoring two runs in the bottom of the first and another in the bottom of the third. UNCW tied the game with a three-hit, three-run top of the fourth, but Bucknell scored again in the bottom of the inning to go up 4-3. The Seahawks added runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take the lead for good.

The Bison committed three errors over the final two frames and left eight runners on base. Seven different Bucknell players posted one hit each. MaKenzie Hilling had Bucknell's only extra-base hit and the team's only RBI of the game.

Burton went 5.1 innings, throwing three strikeouts and giving up two earned runs. Toomey threw the final 1.2 innings and gave up one hit.

Bucknell got its first three batters on in the bottom of the first thanks to a leadoff walk by Knapp, a single from Basso, and a UNCW error that allowed both runners to score.

Baluch reach in the third inning after hitting a two-out single down the left field line and scored on a Hilling double and a UNCW error moments later.

The 3-0 lead wouldn't last long, however, as the Seahawks posted three runs on three singles, an error and a pair of wild pitches in the top of the fourth to tie the game. The Bison regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning after loading the bases with nobody out, and Elena Horn scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-3. It was the only run Bucknell got out of the inning.

Bucknell stuck with Burton, and she retired the Seahawks in order in the top of the fifth. She was replaced in the sixth when UNCW took the lead again with two runs on one hit and two Bison errors. The Seahawks added a sixth run in the seventh inning following another Bucknell mistake, and the Bison left three runners on over the final two frames.