Softball Takes the 8-7 Series Win in Wild See-Saw Affair over Holy Cross

Sunday, March 22

Lewisburg, Pa.

Noon

Bucknell University

4-21, 2-1

Holy Cross

5-14, 1-2

Holy Cross

Bucknell

Photo by: Isabelle Roes

Softball Takes the 8-7 Series Win in Wild See-Saw Affair over Holy Cross

3/22/2026 5:38:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa.- The sun ventured out at Becker Field and so did the Bucknell bats. The Bison collected 13 hits, including a massive three-run homer by winning pitcher Sarah Zimmerman, and a walk-off single by Nicole Lioumis to down the Holy Cross Crusaders in a wild and wooly 8-7 affair on Sunday afternoon. The win gave Bucknell the series victory and moved the Orange & Blue to 4-21 overall but more importantly 2-1 in conference action. Holy Cross fell to 5-14 overall and 1-2 in PL action.

Nicole Lioumis shattered a 0-for-39 stretch dating back to last season in the most dramatic fashion. The senior third baseman stepped to the plate with runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh inning with the score tied at 7-7. Extra innings loomed but Lioumis worked the count against a tired Crusader pitcher in Sophia Roncone, who threw over 160 pitches. The count sat at 3-2 when Lioumis received a perfect pitch and golfed it into the waiting grass of left center. Addison Taft raced home and her teammates mobbed a jubilant Lioumis.

BISON WIN!

LIOUMIS' FIRST HIT OF THE SEASON IS A WALKOFF!

Bucknell dramatically takes the series!@PatriotLeague | @ESPNPlus | @NCAASoftball #rayBucknell | #Team48 pic.twitter.com/pVtxkXOV6h
— Bucknell Softball (@Bucknell_SB) March 22, 2026

Zimmerman earned her first pitching victory of 2026 by entering in the fifth inning and throwing three frames. She helped her cause with a massive opposite field bomb over Becker's left field wall.

Brooke Popella's 100th hit milestone was nearly forgotten in the wildness of the later innings. The Bison junior became the first Bucknell player since teammate Haley Speicher last season to reach it. Her 100th hit came on a crucial two-run double, giving Bucknell a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning.

HISTORY MADE!

Brooke Popella collects her 100th career hit on this two-run double!

Watch: https://t.co/3KHpqCjXZT @PatriotLeague | @ESPNPlus | @NCAASoftball #rayBucknell | #Team48 | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/hpteFu6qzi
— Bucknell Softball (@Bucknell_SB) March 22, 2026

"This was a big moment for us- not just the walk-off but how we handled every moment leading up to it," said Head Coach Angela Stackhouse. "We executed when it mattered most, stayed composed, and trusted each other in pressure situations. You can feel that we have turned a corner as a team. Our confidence is growing, and we are starting to believe what we are capable of doing together."

The first four innings betrayed the frantic ending of the final three stanzas.

Avery Powers started in the circle for the Bison and tossed three innings. Only a solo home run by Emily McCandless marred her outing.

Bucknell tied the game in its second at-bats. Shea Malone led off with the first of her three hits and stole second. She advanced to third on Angelina Seropian's fly ball to right field. Reagan Powell steamed a liner off the third baseman's glove and Malone darted home.

The Bison grabbed the 3-1 lead in the fifth inning on Popella's historic two-run double. Zimmerman walked and Speicher singled in-between a pair of outs. Popella unburdened herself of the milestone pressure with a double that found the right center gap and kept rolling. The two speedy Bison galloped home.

Zimmerman entered the circle in the fifth inning after Payton Hale tossed a scoreless fourth. She kept Holy Cross off the board for one inning but the Crusaders surged in the sixth inning on a three-run blast. Two singles started the action before Zimmerman induced two outs. Zimmerman had an 0-2 count on Emma Pietrzak before the Crusader lifted an offering over the left center wall.

Bucknell matched that home run in its sixth inning. Malone again led off with a single. Seropian received new life when Holy Cross' second baseman dropped a foul ball. She hit a towering fly ball that the Crusader center fielder lost in the sun. Two outs followed. Zimmerman walked to the plate and helped her cause with a tremendous display of opposite field wall. The home run cleared the field and bounced off Depew's (the residing baseball field) dugout. Bucknell led 6-4 but the fireworks were not over.

BOOM! BANG!

ZIMMERMAN SMASHES A THREE-RUN BOMB!

6-4 Bucknell!

Watch: https://t.co/3KHpqCjXZT @PatriotLeague | @ESPNPlus #rayBucknell | #Team48 pic.twitter.com/kGt9EPjIjw
— Bucknell Softball (@Bucknell_SB) March 22, 2026

Kendall Gardy worked a leadoff walk - the source of many frustrating innings for Bucknell - to start the seventh inning. A flyout was next, followed by a pinch hit single. Ali Sniegocki, Holy Cross' potent hitter, loaded the bases with a walk. Anna Brait, nearly as dangerous, also walked and a Crusader trotted home. McCandless struck out swinging. The Holy Cross manager pinch hit Bella Nugent and the rookie delivered a two-run single and the Purple & White retook a 7-6 lead.

The Orange & Blue spent much of 2026, watching their opponents celebrate walkoff hits and winning the coin flip games. Tired of the role and script, Bucknell rewrote its lines. Barbara Jo Coppola, the star rookie hitter, started the proceedings with a double. Popella struck out on three pitches, perhaps too eager for that clutch hit. Meadow Gambacurta had a rough weekend but she worked a masterful walk, taking a borderline pitch for ball four on a 3-2 count. Taft pinch run for her. Malone singled to load the bases. Seropian lifted a fly ball to center field. The center fielder again dropped it but was able to nab Malone at second for the force out. However, Coppola scored to tie the game. Lioumis, carrying a hitless streak, looked masterful in her at-bat, and with a 3-2 count, hit the game-winner. Becker Field erupted in jubilation.

Bucknell travels to Cornell on March 24 for a makeup doubleheader.