Softball Heads to Colgate for Pivotal Three-Game Series

LEWISBURG, Pa.- The Bucknell Bison softball team (14-20, 5-4 Patriot League) hits the road for its second Patriot League road weekend in a pivotal match-up against the Colgate Raiders (13-23, 3-6 Patriot League). The series could have a major impact on Patriot League Tournament seeding. Bucknell was swept by Lehigh last weekend and has a four-game losing streak. Colgate currently has a five-game losing streak after being swept by Boston and defeated in a doubleheader by Syracuse.

The Starting Lineup
What: Patriot League Series at Colgate
Where: Eaton Street Softball Complex (Hamilton, N.Y.)
When: April 6-7

Bucknell Schedule (All Times EST)

Sunday, April 14
10:00 a.m. | at Colgate | Live Stats | Live Watch
Noon | at Colgate | Live Stats | Live Watch

Monday, April 15
1:00 p.m | at Colgate | Live Stats | Live Watch

Caffrey's Call

"We're excited to head to Colgate and take on another competitive team. We feel good about the way we have prepared this week and we are focused on what we need to do to be successful. There has been intent behind the way this team has showed up and I can't wait to see it translate into the games."

The Inside "Herd" on the Bison

Bucknell was swept by the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. The first game was a narrow 2-1 defeat on Saturday. The first contest on Sunday was a 3-0 loss followed by a 16-1 result in the second game.
Brooke Popella was a bright spot for the Bison, hitting .625 (5-for-8) against the great Lehigh pitching staff to win Patriot League Rookie of the Week,
Popella became the first Bison rookie since Zoie Smith in 2021 to win the award twice in a season.
Her performance in the three-game series boosted her batting average above the .300 threshold to .305. The mark is second-best on the team behind Zoie Smith's .323. Popella ranks second on Bucknell's roster in doubles (6), RBIs (14), hits (29), and total bases (35). She stands out as one of the Patriot League's finest freshmen. Popella has been involved in four double plays as part of Bucknell's middle defense.
Zoie Smith notched her 38th career double against Lehigh to move in for a tie for seventh in Bucknell history with Taylor Wolfgang. Ahead of Wolfgang at fourth, fifth, and sixth are a trio of Laurens.
Coach Sarah Caffrey only needs one more win for 50 all-time. She would tie Courtnay Foster for sixth in Bison history.
Roukey was recently profiled in the Bucknell Athletes Tales from the Herd series. The story is available at this link.

Overview of the Opposition

Colgate- The Raiders are 13-23 and 3-6 in Patriot League play. However, their conference record is deceiving as the Hamilton team already played the top two squads in Boston and Lehigh. They were swept by both teams but had the brooms ready for Lafayette and run-ruled the Leopards twice. They recently were defeated twice by rival Syracuse but the results were 2-1 (9) and 3-1. The Raiders boast more power than most Patriot League teams, hitting 20 bombs in 36 games. Kiley Shelton leads the barrage with six homers. Colgate has 31 steals with Rachel Carney collecting 19 swipes. Their two main pitchers, Bailey Misken and Maya Servedio, share the same ERA (3.93). They have pitched all but 30.2 innings. Bucknell should expect to see them all weekend.

History with the Foe

Colgate- Bucknell leads the all-time series 65-61-1. The rural rivalry began back in 1988. The Bison, under Terrie Grieb, won both games. Before COVID-19 canceled the 2020 series, Bucknell had a 15-game winning streak against the Raiders. Colgate won two out of three games last season in Lewisburg. Coach Caffrey is 2-7-1 all-time against the Raiders.

Up Next

The Orange & Blue Crew travel to Boston to face the reigning league champions on April 20-21.