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Bison Softball Headed to Patriot League Tournament for First Time Since 2000
April 30, 2004 LEWISBURG, PA - The Bucknell softball team will travel to Kaufman Field in Bethlehm, Pa., this weekend to participate in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since the 2000 season. With an 8-12 league record, the Orange and Blue are the fourth-seed, and will square off against top-seeded Lehigh at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 1. The Bison ended the four-year playoff drought in dramatic fashion, earning the final berth with a sweep over Holy Cross in the final weekend of play. BU entered the four-game series with the Crusaders needing to win three-of-four. BU is led into this weekend's tournament by fourth-year head coach Janelle Breneman. Breneman was tabbed the 2004 Coach of the Year, picking up the award for the first time during her tenure at Bucknell. She is the second Bucknell coach to earn the prestigious award, behind long-time coach Terrie Grieb's three trophies (1994, 1996, 1999). The Orange and Blue enter the Patriot League Championship searching for their first conference crown since the 1997 season. That year, Bucknell entered the tournament as the second seed and went 3-1 through play to claim the program's only Patriot League title. The outcome of Bucknell's weekend success will lie heavily in the play of senior captain Angela Stackhouse (Muncy, Pa./Hughesville). An all-league first-team performer for the first time, Stackhouse has put together the most successful season of her career. Batting a team and career-high .405 this year, which is also second in the league and 43rd in the nation, the catcher has recorded career-bests for hits (47), home runs (6), doubles (10) and runs batted in (35). In fact, with a round tripper in the series against Holy Cross, Stackhouse tied the school single-season record, and with her RBI-double against Mount St. Mary's, she set a school mark for RBI in a season. Her runs batted in per game average of 0.94 is ranked 17th in the country. Through 38 games this season, Stackhouse has reached base safely in 32 games, 30 of those by way of hit. She has put together hit-streaks of nine, eight and six games, and has only once gone more than one game in a row without a hit. In addition to her offensive production, Stackhouse has been behind the plate for the Orange and Blue for every pitch this season, posting a .963 fielding percentage. Another key to a successful weekend for the Bison is sophomore first-baseman Lauren Wible (Dover, Pa./Dover). Wible was recently named to the all-league second-team for the second-straight year after batting a career-high .344 this season. A starter in every game of her career, including 38 this year, the tri-captain has bettered her first-year totals for hits (42) and RBI (22), while matching her numbers from a year ago with eight doubles and three home runs. She put together a six-game hit streak earlier this season, and has recorded 11 multiple hit games. Wible's .991 fielding percentage is tops on the team, as she has committed just three errors in a team-high 351 chances. Stackhouse and Wible will be joined by another all-league performer in junior centerfielder Jill Pompeii (DuBois, Pa./DuBois Central Christian). Pompeii is a first time selection to the all-conference squad, earning the distinction for her play in centerfield. A starter in all 37 of the games she has played in this season, and all 81 in her career, Pompeii is batting .267 and has been instrumental in BU's success this season. Holding the third-highest on-base percentage on the team, Pompeii has also scored 17 runs for the Bison this year, second-most on the squad. Through 37 games, she has committed just three errors and assisted on nine plays from her perch in centerfield for a .938 fielding percentage, tops among the outfielders on the team. The Bison head into the PL championship winners of six of their last eight games, the most successful stretch of the 2004 season. The squad is averaging nearly 5.0 runs per game during that time. Freshman Lauren Litts (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg) has played a hand in BU's recent success, batting .360 over the last eight games with five doubles and one homerun. The designated player picked up Patriot League Freshman of the Week honors after the Holy Cross series in which she batted .462 with four doubles and her round tripper. Also peaking at the right time are sophomore Julie Williams (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) and freshman Jen James (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham). Williams is coming off of the best week of her career, going 4-0 on the mound with a 1.99 earned run average, which earned her Patriot League Pitcher of the Week accolades for the first time in her career. Three of those victories came against Holy Cross, including a relief appearance for the win in the first game of the series. James, the starting rightfielder, is hitting .333 in the last eight games with three doubles and the first triple of her career.
Bucknell faces Lehigh at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 1, for the first game of the tournament. If the Bison defeat the Mountain Hawks, they will take on the winner of the #2 Army/#3 Colgate game at 3 p.m. In the event of a loss in the first round, the Orange and Blue play the loser of the Army/Colgate game at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the double-elimination tournament. The championship game is slated to begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 2.
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