April 29, 2005

Lewisburg, Pa. - For the second consecutive season the Bucknell softball team heads to Kaufman Field in Bethlehem, Pa., to face top-seeded Lehigh in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament Saturday. The fourth-seeded Bison hope to reverse their fortunes from last year where they lost to the Mountain Hawks and Colgate to end their postseason run. Bucknell and Lehigh will battle at 11 a.m. in the second game of the double-elimination tournament. Second-seeded Army and No. 3 Colgate will play at 9 a.m. in the first of five games scheduled for Saturday.

Bucknell earned the fourth seed in the four-team field with an 8-10 league mark during the regular season. The Bison, 15-20 overall for their most wins since 2001, clinched their berth with an 8-0 win in the first game of a doubleheader against Lafayette last Sunday. It is the first time since 1999 and 2000 they have qualified for the Patriot League Tournament in back-to-back years.

Bucknell enters the postseason searching for its first crown since the 1997 campaign. That year, the Bison entered the tournament as the second seed and went 3-1 to claim the program's only league title.

Junior first baseman Lauren Wible is expected to lead Bucknell this weekend. The only Bison on either of the two All-Patriot League teams, Wible, a first team selection, was named the Player of the Year Thursday following a regular season in which she hit .516 to lead the league and place second in the nation. She also belted a Bucknell record seven home runs, and increased her career total to 13 to set a new program standard. Wible currently owns a 13-game hitting streak and has at least one hit in 31 of her last 33 games. Since opening the season 0-for-7, Wible has hits in 49 of her last 88 at bats.

Wible has had some offensive help as five teammates are hitting at least .250 and the Bison have broken the record for home runs in a season with 19. Last year's squad held the record of 17. Sophomore Lauren Litts is second on the team with four home runs and 19 runs batted in. She has also compiled a .262 batting average. Jennifer James, Kris Devore and Megan Fink have each hit two home runs, while Devore ranks third on the squad with 14 runs batted in. Megan Good, who has not played since April 21 against Colgate, is second on the team in hitting with a .298 batting average. She is hitting exactly .300 in her two-year career.

First-year head coach Heather Rakosik has predominantly used three pitchers in the circle. Christie Wiest, Julie Williams and Lisa Vaccaro have each thrown at least 69.0 innings and won at least four games. Wiest, a freshman, leads the way in most categories, including ERA (3.37), wins (six), games (24), starts (15), complete games (four), shutouts (two), innings (81.0) and strikeouts (40). Williams, who is 4-5 with a 4.53 ERA, leads the Patriot League in saves with three. Vaccaro, who is 5-6 with a 3.86 ERA, has one shutout to her name and has allowed a staff-low 38 earned runs.

The winners from the two opening games Saturday advance to the 1 p.m. game, with the losers meeting at 3 p.m.

The final game Saturday at 5 p.m. will decide who advances to Sunday's championship round. The two remaining teams will play Sunday for the league's automatic NCAA berth. The first game is at 1 p.m. with the second scheduled for 3 p.m. if needed.

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