March 30, 2008

Game 1 Box Score: Bucknell 6, Lafayette 5 (8 in.)
Game 2 Box Score: Lafayette 6, Bucknell 3 (8 in.)

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Christie Wiest (Centre Hall, Pa./Penns Valley) pitched her 13th complete game of the season and Ashley Carlson (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) knocked in the winning run with a single in the top of the eighth as the Bucknell softball team won the first of two extra-inning contests, 6-5, against the Leopards on Sunday.

Lafayette came back and claimed game two by a 6-3 margin thanks to a three-run home run by Stacey Kushner in the bottom of the eighth.

A hefty comeback was needed for the Bison to force extra innings in game one as they trailed 5-0 entering the top of the seventh, but they sent 10 hitters to the plate, registered six singles and capitalized on one Lafayette error to even the score with five runs in the frame.

Erin Curatola (River Edge, N.J./River Dell) drove in the tying run with a fielder's choice. She was the eighth batter in the inning and broke a string of five consecutive hitters to reach base.

Bucknell (8-20, 2-2 Patriot League), had managed just two hits over the first six innings against Leopard starter Christine Hilcken. The only time the Bison threatened before the seventh inning was in the fifth when Hilcken walked three straight hitters with one out.

A single by Jessie Snyder (Tacoma, Wash./Stadium), the third of the inning, knocked Hilcken from the game in favor of Ali Henry (3-4). Both pitchers yielded five hits and three runs in their time in the circle, although Hilcken also had three walks and two strikeouts.

Carlson drove in the go-ahead run with two outs in the top of the eighth, scoring Kristin Frick (West Chester, Pa./Bishop Shanahan), who had singled earlier in the inning.

Wiest (6-9), who retired seven of the last eight hitters she faced, sent Lafayette down in order in the bottom of the eighth to seal the win for the Bison. Wiest allowed eight hits, five runs and two walks while striking out four. She has now pitched more than 100 innings (101.2) for the third consecutive year.

Lauren Fry (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), Elyse Colmenero (Fresno, Calif./Central) and Frick each had two hits in the game to pace Bucknell.

Game two was a back-and-forth affair with more late-inning scoring. Lafayette plated one run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, while Bucknell registered two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh on the first career home run by Snyder, who was 2-for-6 with two runs scored on the day.

Fry, who extended her hitting streak to a season-long six games with three hits in the doubleheader, evened the score at 1-1 in the top of the sixth with an RBI single that scored Carlson. Fry later scored on a ground out by Curatola, putting the Bison up 2-1.

Christina Giambrone evened the score at 2-2 with a home run to left-center leading off the fifth. It was the second of three home runs in the game for the Leopards and it knocked Bison starter Heather Haskin (Noblesville, Ind./Thomas Scecina) from the game. Katie McDonald (York, Pa./West York Area) relieved her and allowed three hits the rest of the inning, but held the Leopards scoreless.

Snyder then put Bucknell back on top (3-2) with her home run to left field. However, the Leopards forced extra innings when Kushner drove in the first of her four runs in the game with a double to center.

The Bison loaded the bases with one out in the top of the eighth as they tried to duplicate their extra-inning heroics from game one. However, Kasey Karr (3-5) worked her way out of the jam with a pair of grounders to end the inning.

Kushner then helped Lafayette (7-12, 2-2 PL) to the second doubleheader split of the weekend, smashing a two-out, three-run home run to center field off McDonald (2-9).

Bucknell touched Karr for eight hits in the nightcap, but Mary Pavlovich (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) was the lone Bison to record multiple hits.

Bucknell is now 2-2 in extra-inning game this season, having defeated Gardner-Webb (3-2) and losing to South Carolina (2-1), both in eight innings.

By splitting the weekend four-game series at Lafayette, the Bison have now opened Patriot League play with a 2-2 record two of the last three years.

Bucknell will step away from league play Thursday, April 3, when it travels to Loretto, Pa., for a doubleheader at Saint Francis (Pa.). The Bison were 0-5 against the Red Flash in 2007.