Bucknell Softball Takes Second at UMBC Dawg Pound Tournament - BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Bucknell Softball Takes Second at UMBC Dawg Pound Tournament

Bison Upset Top-Seeded UMBC 5-4, Fall 10-6 to Saint Francis (Pa.) in Championship Game

Ashley Carlson scored three runs in Sunday's doubleheader split.

March 11, 2007

Bucknell vs. UMBC Box Score

Bucknell vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. - After going 0-3 in round-robin play at the UMBC Dawg Pound Invitational, the Bucknell softball team bounced back Sunday and upset top-seeded UMBC 5-4 in the first game of the championship round, but fell to Saint Francis (Pa.) 10-6 in the championship game Sunday to finish second in the four-team field.

Against UMBC, a squad that defeated the Bison 5-3 Saturday, Bucknell plated a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to take a 5-4 lead and Christie Wiest (1-6) retired the final six Retriever hitters to record a complete game and pick up her first victory of the season. She yielded just four hits and equaled her career high with eight strikeouts. UMBC touched her for all for of its runs in the bottom of the third inning.

The Bison tied the score in the sixth when Ashley Carlson scored from second on a throwing error by the pitcher off the bat of Mary Pavlovich. Monica Grinage then knocked in the go-ahead run with a double to left-center to score Pavlovich.

Hitting in the ninth hole, Carlson led the Bison by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the contest. Overall, Bucknell (3-10) totaled seven hits as six of its starters each had at least one. UMBC recorded four errors in the losing effort.

In the championship game, Saint Francis, a team that has now defeated Bucknell three times in this young season, tallied six runs in the bottom of the fifth off relievers Tanya Roth and Katie McDonald to clinch the victory. The Bison, who trailed 10-3 going into their half of the sixth, rallied for three runs, but could not draw closer than the final 10-6 margin.

In that sixth inning Alyssa Okita and Pavlovich both recorded RBI singles, while Kristin Frick had a three-RBI double in the first inning to account for Bucknell's first runs.

Wiest, Roth and McDonald gave up 12 hits to the Red Flash, while the Bison tallied nine, including a 3-for-3 showing with two runs by Sherry Finkel.

After a busy weekend where it went 1-4, Bucknell travels to Kissimmee, Fla., later this week for six games at the Rebel Spring Games.