Bucknell Softball Splits Pair of Games at Elon Classic - BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Bucknell Softball Splits Pair of Games at Elon Classic

Bison Defeat Norfolk State 6-1, Fall to UNC Greensboro 5-0

Katie McDonald posted her first career complete game against Norfolk State.

March 3, 2007

Bucknell vs. Norfolk State Box Score

Bucknell vs. UNC Greensboro Box Score

BURLINGTON, N.C. - On the opening day of the Elon Classic, the Bucknell softball team picked up a 6-1 victory over Norfolk State and fell to UNC Greensboro 5-0 Saturday. The Bison, who were led by a complete game, four-hitter from Katie McDonald against the Spartans, are now 2-4 this season.

Making just the third start of her career, McDonald, just a sophomore, posted her first complete game as she allowed just one run on four hits to Norfolk State. She also struck out four and allowed two walks as the one run was unearned in the third inning, the only time more than five Spartan hitters strolled to the plate in a frame.

Bucknell went down in order three times, and one other time sent only four hitters to the plate, but it did its damage when it sent eight batters to the plate to push across two runs in the third and nine hitters helped four more runs score in the fourth.

The first seven hitters in the Bison lineup each picked up at least one hit, led by Erin Curatola (River Edge, N.J./River Dell), who was 2-for-3 with two runs batted in and one run scored. She had RBI singles in both the third and fourth innings.

Ashley Carlson (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) also posted an RBI single in the third. Mary Pavlovich (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) walked with the bases loaded in the fourth, while Lauren Litts (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg) followed her with a two-RBI double to round out the Bucknell scoring. Litts now has 10 RBI on the season and is now by herself in fourth place on the Bison career list, just 12 behind Lauren Wible's program standard.

Freshman Alyssa Velazquez started for Norfolk State and Bucknell registered eight of its nine hits against her before Litts' double knocked her from the game. Sarah Wittwer relieved her and allowed just one hit and one walk in the final 2.1 innings.

In the nightcap Bucknell had another strong pitching performance as Christie Wiest (Centre Hall, Pa./Penns Valley) held UNC Greensboro to just one run and four hits in six innings. However, Meg Muirhead (Glendale, Calif./Flintridge) took over for Wiest in the top of the seventh with the Bison trailing 3-0 and the Spartans proceeded to touch her for two runs, both of which were charged to Wiest, and one hit.

Amber Harrell pitched a complete-game shutout for UNCG as the Bison mustered just three hits in the contest with Lauren Trosch (Reisterstown, Md./McDonough), Sherry Finkel (Morgantown, W. Va./University) and Carlson each picking up singles.

Bucknell wraps up play at the two-day Elon Classic on Sunday with games against Saint Francis (Pa.) (11 a.m.) and host Elon (1 p.m.).