March 24, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell softball team will have its final tuneups before Patriot League play this week. The Bison host Penn State for a doubleheader on Tuesday and will then travel to UMBC on Wednesday for a doubleheader that was postponed from the last weekend in February.

Bucknell Softball Notebook (5-15, 0-0 PL)
Bucknell Notes
• Bucknell won both games against Coppin State on Saturday. The Bison won game one 20-0 and game two 17-0. The 20 runs were the fourth-most in program history, and the most since the 1981 Bucknell squad plated 27 in a 22-run victory over Mansfield. The 37 runs in the doubleheader mark the most the Bison have ever scored in a twinbill.

• Bucknell freshman Alison Ford was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on Monday following her performance against Coppin State. She was 4-for-5 with six runs batted in and three runs scored in the two games against the Eagles. Her batting average went from .162 to .238.

• The Bucknell pitching staff combined to hold Coppin State scoreless for 10 innings in the weekend doubleheader. It was the first time the Bison have posted back-to-back shutouts since blanking Maryland Eastern Shore in both ends of a doubleheader in March 2006. Bucknell's team ERA is now 2.98.

• Senior Christie Wiest picked up her 23rd career victory this past weekend. The win moved her into a tie for fifth place in Bison history with Allison Morena. Next up is fourth-place Stacey Waite, who piled up 36 career wins from 1996-99.

• Bucknell hit a robust .596 during Saturday's doubleheader.

• Freshman Sam Rollandi has taken over the team lead in batting average. She is hitting .324 with six runs scored and seven runs batted in.

• Freshman Lauren Fry has a five-game hitting streak entering Tuesday's meeting with Penn State. That ties senior Erin Curatola for the longest by a Bison this year. Additionally, Rollandi is in the midst of a four-game hitting streak.

• Curatola is the lone Bison to have played in all 20 games this season. She has drawn a team-high 19 starts.

• Bucknell has won two consecutive games for the first time since last year when it closed out April with a doubleheader sweep of Holy Cross and then won the first game of a doubleheader with Delaware two days later.

Bucknell vs. Penn State & UMBC
• Bucknell is 6-20 all-time against Penn State. After a seven-year hiatus, the series resumed in 2006. The Bison had failed to score for more than 20 innings against the Nittany Lions until they came back from a 7-0 deficit to defeat Penn State 8-7 last year. All eight runs were scored in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. It was just the second time in the last 16 meetings Bucknell defeated the Nittany Lions.

• Penn State brings a seven-game winning streak into Tuesday's games at Bucknell. The Nittany Lions have won 10 of their last 11 and are 19-8 overall. They are hitting .262 as a team and have a pair of pitchers with sub-1.00 ERAs.

• Bucknell and UMBC have met 10 times with the Retrievers holding a 7-3 edge in the series that began in 1991. The teams split two games last year in their first meetings since 1996.

• UMBC, which plays at Towson on Tuesday, is 9-13 this season. The Retrievers are hitting .250 as a team and sport a 2.60 ERA. They have lost three of their last four games.

2008 Bucknell Weekly Honors
• Patriot League Player of the Week:
- Alison Ford (3/24)
• Patriot League Rookie of the Week:
- Lauren Fry (3/17)

Up Next
• Bucknell will open the Patriot League season this weekend when it travels to Easton, Pa., to play four games against Lafayette. The Bison will play doubleheaders both Saturday and Sunday. Bucknell is 51-27-1 all-time against the Leopards, its most common opponent.

Bucknell's Schedule this Week
Tuesday, March 25
Bucknell vs. Penn State (DH), 3 p.m. (Bucknell Softball Field)

Wednesday, March 26
Bucknell at UMBC (DH), 3 p.m.