Bucknell Sweeps Penn State

Story posted April 25, 2018 in CommRadio, Sports by Joe Murphy

Taylor Wolfgang hit a two-run double in the top of the 10th and the top of the first as Bucknell won both games of the doubleheader against Penn State 7-6 and 13-1 Wednesday night at Beard Field. Gianna Arrizurieta hit a two-run triple in the first game of the doubleheader.

Raeanne Geffert started both games for the Bison, but only was unable to get out of the third inning in the first game. Jessica Cummings started for the Nittany Lions and was also unable to get out of the third.

Wolfgang struggled throughout the first game until the 10th when she hit a double to centerfield to break the 5-5 tie. Arrizurieta came up in the bottom of the 10th with two runners on and two outs but struck out to end the game.
Bucknell improves its record to 25-19-1 while Penn State drops to 7-37 on the season.

Penn State started off the doubleheader with a two-run single by Tori Dubois in the bottom of the second, taking the first lead of the game. The early lead was lost in the top of the third when Marissa Alemany and Anna Gimmestad hit back to back doubles to tie the game at two.

Meghan Lovac homered in the top of the fifth inning to extend Bucknell’s lead to 5-2. Arrizurieta’s triple in the fifth closed the gap to one and scored the tying run off an RBI groundout from Kennedy Legg. The senior shortstop talked about the importance of getting on base for her team as the reason for coming through in a big moment.

“Just getting the ball in play, making sure that we had an opportunity to push the game on and come back and win it,” Arrizurieta said about her fifth-inning triple.

Penn State’s offensive output in the opening game did not carry over into the second game as the team was only able to record two hits in a five-inning mercy rule loss. The Nittany Lions committed four errors in the second game with first baseman Meghan Williams committing two of them.

The second game started poorly for the Nittany Lions as Maddie Smith hit the leadoff batter Alemany with on the first pitch. A pair of walks and two-run doubles ended Smith’s night with the sophomore failing to record an out.
Penn State’s offense was similar to the defense in game two as the Nittany Lions were only able to get two hits over the course of five innings. The only run came off an RBI groundout from Tori Dubois in the bottom of the third inning when Penn State was already down by eight runs.

A bright spot for the Nittany Lions during the doubleheader was freshman catcher Haley Vallejos, who went 3-for-4 win an RBI and a run scored in the opening game. She talked about how being more relaxed helped her at the plate.
“I had a great individual beforehand,” Vallejos said. “I’m definitely more relaxed and not overthinking anymore.”
Penn State will play its last home series against Illinois from Friday to Sunday, while Bucknell travels to Boston in a showdown of the Patriot League’s top two teams.

 

 

Joseph Esquivel-Murphy is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and Spanish. To contact him, email jje5139@psu.edu.