WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross softball team will host Bucknell for a four-game Patriot League series this weekend. The Crusaders and Bison will play doubleheaders beginning at 12:30 p.m. on both Saturday, April 3 and Sunday, April 4.
The games on April 3 will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Things to Know About the Crusaders (4-4, 1-1 PL):
- Holy Cross is coming off a doubleheader sweep of Maine this past Wednesday. The Crusaders defeated the Black Bears 5-1 and 3-0.
- Megan Yurchick and Kelly Nelson each earned complete game victories and combined in the circle for a 0.00 ERA over 14 innings of work, zero walks, just seven hits, and 15 strikeouts. Game one was Yurchick's first collegiate win and game two saw Nelson move into second place all-time in program history with her 303rd career strikeout. She finished the game at 311.
- Jessie Nagel had a huge couple of games as she picked up three doubles and a home run against Maine, while she also scored three times and had three RBI. The junior is now hitting .467 on the year.
- Bella Jankowski had a hit in each game against Maine to extend her hitting streak to five games. She has reached base safely in all eight games this season and leads the team with a .526 average and a .630 on-base percentage.
- Erin Bengston doubled twice against Maine to give her a team-high four on the year. She also leads the team with six RBI.
Things to Know About the Bison (7-4, 4-0 PL):
- Bucknell opened Patriot League play with a four-game sweep of Lafayette where the Bison outscored the Leopards a combined 38-19.
- The Bison have five starters hitting above .300 so far on the year. Taylor Wolfgang is leading the way at. 414 with three home runs and 12 RBI. Zoie Smith, who is hitting .405, leads the team with five home runs and is tied for the team lead of 14 RBI with Nicole Rivait. Rivait is hitting .389, Chase Knapp has a .345 average, and Kailyn Lorberter is at .313.
- Four different players have started games in the circle for Bucknell. Olivia Marinelli has a team-best 2.91 ERA, though has only started two games. Kaiya Burton, who has started four times, and Kelly Toomey, who has three starts, have posted 4.41 and 6.86 ERAs respectively. Toomey has a team-high 26 strikeouts through 16 innings of work.
- As a team, the Bison are batting .325, while the pitchers have a staff 4.83 ERA.
Last Time They Met:
- In 2019, Bucknell took all three games from Holy Cross. The Bison won the first 5-0, before the Crusaders closed the gap for games two and three, but still fell 1-0 and 5-3 in nine innings.
- In that third game, the Crusaders trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the seventh. They would tie it up after the first two batters tripled and singled respectively, but they could not push across the winning run. Back-to-back solo home runs in the ninth doomed Holy Cross as Bucknell completed the three-game sweep.
