Bucknell University
5-30
Saint Francis (Pa.)
21-13
Softball Drops two to Saint Francis in Tuesday Doubleheader
4/12/2022 8:56:00 PM | Softball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell softball team hosted Saint Francis for a pair of midweek games at Becker Field on Tuesday and suffered losses in both non-conference contests. The Bison scored a pair of runs in the sixth inning of game one to threaten the Red Flash lead after falling behind 6-1, but Saint Francis held on for the 6-3 win. Bucknell was held off the board in game two, as Saint Francis cruised to a 9-0 victory to end the afternoon.
Zoie Smith put together a 4-for7 day at the plate and posted an RBI in the first game. Saint Francis' Lindsay Ward also went 4-for-7 and hit three home runs on the afternoon.
Bucknell rotated through its pitching staff, and Olivia Marinelli and Hunter Vestal each received losses. Only one of the six runs Saint Francis scored in game one was earned, as the Bison committed three errors.
Up next, Bucknell heads to Hamilton, N.Y. to play a three-game Patriot League series against Colgate. The series begins at noon on Saturday, April 16 with a doubleheader.
Game One: Saint Francis 6, Bucknell 3
Bucknell led 9-6 in hits in the first game on Tuesday, but costly errors allowed the Red Flash to jump out to a 5-1 lead over the first three innings.
Saint Francis scored two runs in the first after one runner reached on a dropped fly ball in right field, and Ward hit a two-run homer to center field with two outs in the opening frame. Bucknell responded in the bottom half when MaKenzie Hilling reached on a walk, moved to second on a passed ball and later scored on an infield single by Smith.
Two more Saint Francis runs scored in the second inning after the first two batters reached on a single and an error at second base. Both runners made it across on a two-out triple down the right field line. The story was similar in the third inning, as a leadoff double and an error at shortstop put runners on second and third. A sacrifice fly to left field with one away made it 5-1 going into the fourth
After two scoreless innings, the Red Flash struck again with a pair of hits in the top of the sixth.
The Bison made things interesting in the bottom of the sixth when Chase Knapp led off the inning with a triple to right field. It was Knapp's second three-bagger in a week. She later made it across on a single by Jessie Kincer, who scored as well on an Annabella Hawkins single to cut the deficit to three. It was as close as the Bison would get, however, as Saint Francis' Grace Vesco took care of business in the bottom of the seventh and held on for the win in a complete game pitched.
T7 | SFU 6, Bucknell 3
— Bucknell Softball (@Bucknell_SB) April 12, 2022
The Bison score two in the bottom of the sixth! Knapp gets the inning going with a triple, and Kincer and Hawkins both knock in runs.
Watch: https://t.co/PY5LWdDzhY pic.twitter.com/29P5RL5cQK
Game Two: Saint Francis 9, Bucknell 0
Saint Francis racked up 11 hits in the second game and scored seven of its nine runs in the last two innings while holding the Bison off the board. The top half of the Red Flash's order accounted for all 11 hits, as five players posted two each. Ward posted four of the team's RBIs, hitting one homer in the sixth and another in the seventh.
Vestal threw the first four innings for Bucknell, allowing one earned run and five hits while striking out two. Madison Roukey, Kaiya Burton and Kelly Toomey all made appearances in the game as well.
After two quick innings, Saint Francis opened the scoring thanks to a Bucknell error, a double and a triple in the third. The Red Flash posted another double in the fourth to push the lead to 2-0.
Another scoreless inning in the fifth was followed by a four-run top of the sixth by Saint Francis that included three walks and three extra-base hits. Three more scored in the seventh off a another trio hits and a Bison error.
Saint Francis' Rachel Marsden threw all seven innings, allowing six hits against 26 batters faced and striking out three.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: VESCO, Grace (9-6)
L: Marinelli, Olivia (0-8)
Batting:
2B: ULAM, Olivia 1
3B: SABAN, Mekenzie 1
HR: WARD, Lindsay 1
RBI: SABAN, Mekenzie 2 ; WARD, Lindsay 2 ; MARSDEN, Rachel 1 ; BAKER, Sydney 1
SH: WRUBLE, Ashley 1
SF: MARSDEN, Rachel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: PIETRZYKOSKI, Jordan 1 ; ULAM, Olivia 1 ; WARD, Lindsay 1 ; FRANK, Jordan 1 ; MARSDEN, Rachel 1 ; WRUBLE, Ashley 1
SB: FRANK, Jordan 1 ; WRUBLE, Ashley 1
HBP: PIETRZYKOSKI, Jordan 1
Batting:
3B: Knapp, Chase 1
RBI: Smith, Zoie 1 ; Kincer, Jessie 1 ; Hawkins, Annabella 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hilling, MaKenzie 1 ; Knapp, Chase 1 ; Kincer, Jessie 1
