April 12, 2005

HAMILTON, N.Y. - Freshman Megan Fink hit her first career home run and Christie Wiest worked out of a sixth-inning jam as the Bucknell softball team held on to beat Colgate in the second game of a Patriot League doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Eaton Street Field. The Bison dropped the first game to the Raiders, 4-0, as Kelsey Nordstrom allowed Bucknell just one hit.

Fink staked Bucknell (6-17, 1-9 PL) to a 2-0 lead with her home run off Colgate (13-12, 7-3 PL) starter Kate Howard (6-7) in the fourth inning. Lauren Wible, who was 1-for-2 in the game after seeing her 11-game hit streak come to an end in the first contest, led of the fourth with the fourth hit of the game for the Bison. After a fielder's choice by Kris Devore and a ground out by Erin Curatola, Fink stepped to the plate and blasted her first career home run over the center-field fence.

Howard, who retired Heather Haskin to end the fourth inning, was removed from the game in the fifth in favor of Nordstrom. Howard allowed five hits and just the two runs in four innings of work.

Colgate was able to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a single run when Kim Olmstead, who was one of two Raiders to go 2-for-2 in the game, doubled to right-center. That hit knocked Bucknell starter Lisa Vaccaro from the game after just 3.1 innings. She yielded five hits, one run, one walk and struck out one. Christie Wiest, who improved to 3-6 with the win, retired the next two batters in order.

The top of the fifth featured two more runs for the Bison, both coming with two out. Nordstrom quickly retired the first two hitters, but Jennifer James and Jill Pompeii ended up on third and second, respectively, after a single and then a throwing error by Nicole Rawson, the third baseman. James scored on a wild pitch, while Pompeii scored on a single by Kris Devore.

Wiest and Julie Williams, who pitched a perfect seventh inning for her second save of the season, proceeded to keep the Colgate offense in check the rest of the game. The Raiders did rally for two runs in the sixth inning, but Wiest retired Rawson to end the frame with the tying run on third base.

Bucknell could not get its offense going against Nordstrom (7-5) in the first game. The lone hit for the Bison came in the fifth inning when James beat out a one-out bunt for the only hit of the game. Other than that hit Bucknell's only base runners came in the first inning when Pompeii and Wible drew back-to-back walks with one out. However, Nordstrom ended the inning by striking out Lauren Litts and Haskin as she struck out the side in the first inning. She finished with eight strikeouts overall.

Colgate gave Nordstrom all the runs she would need in the first two innings as it scored one in each frame. Rawson had an RBI double to right-center in the first, while Erin Gomez had an RBI single in the second off Williams, who fell to 1-5 this season.

Williams held the Raiders scoreless until the fifth inning when Dorothy Donaldson smashed her 38th career home run, a two-run shot, to give Colgate a 4-0 advantage. Williams, who gave up eight hits, four runs, all earned, and one walk in five innings, was replaced the following inning by Wiest who retired the Raiders in order in the bottom of the sixth.

Devore broke out of a slump that had seen her go hitless for 13 consecutive at bats with a 2-for-3 showing in the second game. Along with her home run, Fink also singled in the second inning to give her the first multiple-hit game of her young career.

LaPorscha Albert paced Colgate by going 4-for-7 in the doubleheader with two runs scored. She was 3-for-3 in the opener.

The Bison, 31-25 all-time against Colgate, snapped a 12-game losing streak against the Raiders with the victory in the second contest. Bucknell also won in Hamilton for the first time since 1999.

Bucknell will return home for a non-conference doubleheader with St. Francis (Pa.) Thursday, April 14, at 3 p.m.