April 24, 2005
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
LEWISBURG, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Bucknell earned the final spot in the Patriot League softball championships with a doubleheader sweep of Lafayette on Sunday afternoon. The Bison won the opener 8-0 to clinch the No. 4 seed, and then prevailed 12-8 in the second game.
Kris Devore gave Bucknell (15-18, 8-10 PL) a 2-0 lead with a homer in the third to support Christie Wiest, who threw 4.2 innings before yielding to Lisa Vaccaro, who struck out the only batter she faced.
The Bison got two more in the fourth, and a walk, an error and four straight hits led to four runs in the home half of the fifth. Alyssa Schneebaum scored the final run on a single by Ashley Sarnecky to end the game.
Samantha Lucas was the only Leopard with two hits, while Megan Averbuch was hit with the loss for Lafayette (9-34, 3-15 PL).
Jill Masterton followed a leadoff walk by Michelle Ellis and a single by Kristen Ruckno with a triple to right center to give Lafayette a 2-0 lead in the nightcap. Masterton later scored on an error by the third baseman for a 3-0 advantage.
Jennifer James scored from first on a single by Lauren Litts for Bucknell in the bottom of the inning, and Litts drove a two-run double in a three-run second that gave the Bison a 4-3 edge.
Lafayette tied the score on a double by Lauren Belowich in the third, and went ahead 5-4 in the fifth as Kathryn Longshore doubled to bring home Ruckno.
The Bison offense used seven hits, including three for extra bases, to score eight runs in the sixth. Michelle Danish capped the frame with a two-run homer, and Lauren Wible and Schneebaum also had two-RBI hits in the inning.
Lafayette scored three in the top of the seventh to close the scoring. Ruckno singled, Masterton walked and Averbuch doubled for the first run, and a pair of groundouts plated the subsequent runs.
Julie Williams and Vaccaro shared time in the circle, with Vaccaro throwing the last four innings for the win. Belowich was tagged for all of the runs and suffered the loss for the Leopards.
Ruckno went 3-for-4 and scored three times, and Masterton was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
Lafayette will close its season on Tuesday with a doubleheader against Fairleigh Dickinson at 3 p.m. at Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex.
