April 5, 2008

Game 1 Box Score: Bucknell 5, Colgate 0 | Game 2 Box Score: Bucknell 8, Colgate 3 |  Photo Gallery 

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Senior Christie Wiest (Centre Hall, Pa./Penns Valley) carried a perfect game into the fifth inning and recorded her second shutout of the season as the Bucknell softball team defeated Colgate 5-0 in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon. The Bison then won game two 8-3 in come-from-behind fashion with seven runs in the fifth inning.

The doubleheader sweep was the first for Bucknell over the Raiders since 1999. It also helped the Bison improve to 10-12 overall this season and 4-2 in Patriot League play. That mark is good for second place in the league standings and ranks as the best conference start for Bucknell since 2003.

In game one, the Bison offense provided Wiest (8-9), who is one win shy of equaling her single-season best, with a four-run cushion in the first inning and she did the rest. In fact, Wiest retired the first 14 hitters she faced, including striking out the side in the fourth inning, before a hard-hit, two-out double to left by Nicole Siedhof broke up the perfect game.

Meg Mylan followed Siedhof with a single to right, but a perfect throw by Ashley Carlson (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) on a line to home nailed Siedhof, who was trying to score.

Wiest scattered three hits over the next two innings to preserve her seventh career shutout. It was the sixth time this season Wiest allowed five or fewer hits while pitching a complete game. She struck out six in the contest, bringing her season total to 55 and her career figure to 313, just eight behind second-place Allison Love in the Bucknell record book.

The Bison offense, which registered nine hits of Colgate starter Jesse McCarrick (2-5), capitalized on a key Raider error to score four runs in the bottom of the first. Lauren Fry (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), the second batter of the game, bounced one to third that Siedhof did a good job of knocking down, but her throw to first was wild, allowing Fry and Carlson to move into scoring position. Four of the next five hitters posted RBI singles as the Bison batted around in the frame.

Erin Curatola (River Edge, N.J./River Dell), who was 2-for-3 in the game and 4-for-7 in the doubleheader, tallied her second RBI single in as many innings when she drove home Carlson in the second inning, rounding out the scoring for Bucknell, which had nine hits in the contest as eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit.

Colgate (3-10, 0-2 PL) jumped out to a 3-0 cushion in the early innings of game two, but the Bison scored seven runs in the fifth inning to solidify the doubleheader sweep.

Bucknell sent 11 hitters to the plate in the fifth inning and drew two walks, posted five singles and had a pair of batters hit by pitches. The Bison moved station-to-station much of the inning as five consecutive hitters came to the plate with the bases loaded. A single by Alison Ford (Suison, Calif./Davis) knocked Colgate starter Lacy Ver Steeg (1-4) from the game with the score 6-3. McCarrick came in and allowed a pair of inherited runners to score, but yielded just one hit over the final 1.2 innings.

Bucknell's first run came in the fourth inning when Elyse Colmenero (Fresno, Calif./Central) had the first of her two RBI singles, bringing home Curatola.

The Raiders scored their first run on an error by Carlson in right field in the second, while Brandy Godfrey had a two-RBI double to left-center in the third to give them their three-run cushion against Bison starter Katie McDonald (York, Pa./West York Area).

McDonald (4-9) pitched well as she scattered seven hits while registering her fifth complete game of the season. She allowed just two hits after the third inning and retired the last seven hitters she faced. The right-hander piled up five strikeouts and allowed two earned runs as she equaled her win total from all of last year.

Fry, Curatola and Colmenero each registered a pair of hits for Bucknell. Colmenero's hitting streak stretched to eight games, while Curatola has now hit in five straight.

With 12 victories this season, the Bison are just three shy of their win total from all of last year. Additionally, their current four-game winning streak is their longest since an eight-game hot streak in 2005.

Bucknell and Colgate will complete their four-game weekend series Sunday with game one starting at 12 p.m. at West Fields.