April 7, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell softball team claimed two of the Patriot League's three weekly awards on Monday as sophomore Mary Pavlovich (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) was named the league's Player of the Week and Lauren Fry (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) earned her third Rookie of the Week citation in the last four weeks.

The Player of the Week award was the first of Pavlovich's career. She is the second Bison to earn the honor this season, marking the first time since 1999 Bucknell has had two different players earn Player of the Week accolades.

Fry's three Rookie of the Week citations place her one shy of the Patriot League record, held by Colgate's Ashley Rowe and Lafayette's Christina Giambrone. This is the first time Bucknell has earned three Rookie of the Week certificates in one season.

Lauren Fry was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the third time this season.

Pavlovich and Fry helped the Bison to a 5-1 record last week, including their first doubleheader sweep of Colgate since 1999. Bucknell is 13-21 overall and 5-3 in Patriot League play, placing it second in the league standings, just one game behind Lehigh, its opponent this coming weekend.

The duo of Pavlovich and Fry formed two of the six Bison who hit at least .400 last week. Both hit .500. Pavlovich was 9-for-18 with one home run, seven runs batted in and a team-high nine runs scored. Fry, who registered the first four-hit game of the season for the Bison, was 10-for-20 with three runs batted in and six runs scored.

Pavlovich saw her batting average go from .260 to .308 with her solid performance last week. She posted a pair of three-RBI games and scored at least one run in all six contests last week. Highlighting her performance was a 3-for-3 outing with two runs batted in and three runs scored in the final game of a four-game weekend series against Colgate. She also powered a three-run home run in the final inning of a non-league 11-2 victory at Saint Francis (Pa.).

Pavlovich is second in hitting this season to Fry's .341 batting average and ranks third on the team with 14 runs batted in. She has scored 18 runs and has registered three extra base hits while playing a solid third base and catcher.

Fry, who has at least one hit in 11 of her last 12 games, led the Bison with her 10 hits last week. She posted three multiple-hit games and scored at least one run in each of the final five games last week. Fry's best outing was a 4-for-5 performance with two runs batted in against Colgate on Sunday.

This year, Fry is first on the Bison with seven doubles and has driven in 17 runs to rank second on the club. Her 21 runs scored pace the team, while her defense has been strong with four outfield assists.

Led by Pavlovich and Fry, Bucknell will play a single non-league game against regional foe Susquehanna on Thursday at home. The Bison will then hit the road for the final time this season when they play a four-game set at first-place Lehigh this weekend.