Category: Sports

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Baseball Men Sports

Baseball suffers setback vs. Army

Andrew Arnao

Sports Editor

Andrew Andreychik ’16 provided the baseball team with its lone victory against visiting Army last weekend, throwing a four-hit shutout following three Bison losses to the Black Knights. The Bison also dropped two games at St. Bonaventure on April 23, despite another fantastic pitching performance from Xavier Hammond ’15.

Looking to salvage the four-game series, Andreychik took the mound following game three on April 21, and delivered with a gem. In the 5-0 Bison victory, Andreychik struck out eight and walked only one, facing just five batters over the minimum. Backing Andreychik on offense was right fielder Joe Ogren ’16, whose two-out double gave the Bison a 4-0 lead in the third inning, as well as RBI hits from second baseman Travis Clark ’13 and first baseman Rob Krentzman ’15.

The Orange and the Blue played their first two games against Army on April 20, marking their first home games against Patriot League opponents this season. Starting game one for the Bison was Bryson Hough ’15, who gave up seven runs (five earned) in the eventual 7-0 loss. Hough surrendered nine hits in 6.2 innings of work, while also striking out four and walking none. The offense sputtered behind Hough with only three Bison recording a total of four hits against Army’s Chris Rowley, the reigning Patriot League Pitcher of the Year.

Looking to get the Bison back on track, Dan Weigel ’14 delivered an outstanding performance in game two, pitching nine innings while allowing only three runs (two earned) on six hits and striking out eight. The Orange and the Blue fell in a 2-0 hole after Army scored twice in the second inning, but a bases-loaded walk from third baseman Carter Bumgardner ’13 in the fifth and an RBI single by catcher Justin Meier ’14 in the sixth knotted the score at 2-2. The score remained tied until the 10th inning, where Army finally got to Weigel and relief pitcher Max Kra ’16 for three runs. The Bison were unable to rally in their half of the tenth, and dropped their second game to Army by a final of 5-2.

“The Army series was a bit of a tough weekend for us,” outfielder Matt Busch ’13 said. “I think we came out kind of flat in the first game and then couldn’t find the big hit in the next two.”

Game three on April 21 also turned out to be a tough one for the Orange and the Blue as they once again lost in extra innings, this time 3-2. Similar to game two, Army took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, and the Bison tied it up 2-2 thanks to a pair of RBIs from Bumgardner. As the game went into extras, starter Dan Goldstein ’13 gave up his third run of the game in the eighth inning, but the Bison could not return the favor in their half. Goldstein still recorded a complete game, allowing 10 hits and striking out four in eight innings of work.

Following the Army series, the Bison hit the road to face St. Bonaventure in a doubleheader. The Orange and the Blue were blasted for 10 runs in game one, with Krentzman driving in right fielder Corey Furman ’14 for the lone Bison run in their 10-1 defeat. Game two featured a near no-hitter from Hammond, who came within two outs of the impressive feat. Unfortunately for the Orange and the Blue, a one-out single in the seventh ended the no-hit bit, and St. Bonaventure rallied for three runs to walk off against the Bison 3-2.

Currently fourth in the Patriot League standings, the Bison will host Lafayette this weekend in their final series of the season.

“We have Lafayette [this] weekend and that will be big for us,” Busch said. “We need to come out strong for all four games and get headed in the right direction for the playoffs.”

Seniors will also be honored prior to game one, which will begin at noon Saturday at Depew Field.

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Beyond the Bison Sports

Beyond the Bison: Sports News Across the Nation

Julian Dorey

Staff Writer

“Know Your Place”

Patriot’s Day in Boston–a day to celebrate the men who fought for this nation’s freedom oh-so-many years ago. A day where the ultimate physical prowess headlines as the city of Boston’s greatest celebration: the annual running of the Boston Marathon. At 2:50 p.m. on April 15, the happiest of days was torn to pieces with the hollow boom of two pressure-cooker bombs, two cowardly instances of terrorism, two moments of unthinkable carnage. A day meant for celebration and sports (the Red Sox had played as well and won earlier in the day) turned into the worst showing of domestic terrorism since another sunny day in September 2001.

As the world watched in horror, the people of Boston, particularly those standing closest to the scene on Boylston Street, sprung into action and did all they could to help the poor souls injured in the tragedy. In the end, thanks to the work of heroic EMT’s and the Good Samaritan citizens of Boston, all but three lives were saved. Still, though, three too many died and dozens of others will now be forced to live the rest of their lives without some of their limbs.

In moments and times like this, the leisure side of life takes a backseat. Suddenly arriving five minutes late for a dinner seems trivial. A couple dollars lost in the stock market isn’t as disappointing for a trader. A parking ticket doesn’t rile an offender up like it usually does. And sports, perhaps the most common of all American leisurely tastes? They cease being a life-or-death proposition for the diehards (pardon the pun). And nowhere did we see better unity, understanding and passion than in the world of sports.

On April 17, the Boston Bruins took the ice against the Buffalo Sabres. After a moving pregame tribute, the usual national anthem singer came out to do what he always does: sing our nation’s tribute song while the fans stand with their hands on their hearts. Only this time, he was cut off pretty quickly. Within seconds, the entire stadium broke out in unison and summarily took over the song from the performer. The sound shook the ground and ran chills up the spines of anyone watching. The players on both teams loved it as our nation’s unity and will to stand together shined through.

Even fans of the New York Yankees, sworn enemies of the Boston Red Sox fans, showed their support during these dark times. Not long after the national anthem was sung by all at the Bruins game, Yankees fans belted out the lyrics of “Sweet Caroline,” the traditional Red Sox song. An illumination of the Boston “B” also appeared next to the Yankees logo at Yankee stadium, with the words “United We Stand” between them.

And less than 16 hours after the whole saga ended with the apprehension of the suspects believed to be responsible for the bombings, the Red Sox had a game to play against the Royals in Fenway Park, the Cathedral of Boston. And, once again, the world of sports proved that they “get it.” In yet another moving pregame ceremony, the team played an emotional video tribute to the victims of the past week and to the courageous law enforcement officers who took down those responsible. Then, the team brought out three people closely tied with the tragic events to throw the ceremonial first pitch—including one man who almost died from blood loss in the hospital.

Finally, to cap it all off, Red Sox legend and fan favorite, David “Big Papi” Ortiz, took the stadium microphone and spoke to the city that has adopted him. In a perfectly delivered, genuine speech, Ortiz gave the fans there that day and everyone watching around the world reassurance that, in the end, everyone in America, even Yankees fans and Red Sox fans, stand together, and that no force of evil can ever drive them apart. They were brutally honest and beautiful words from a man who wasn’t even born in this country. Yet, like so many other players, coaches and executives in the sports world had proven in the wake of the bombings, the sporting world understands its role.

Games are not life and death. There is a winner and loser. They are there to entertain. It is great to see that everyone still seems to understand that—especially during the most difficult of times.

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Lacrosse Men Sports

Men’s lacrosse comes back in 13-8 victory

Reed Dempsey

Senior Writer

The men’s lacrosse team travelled to Hamilton, N.Y. on April 20 to face the Colgate Raiders. Four assists from David Dickson ’15 and an 8-1 second half run propelled the Bison to a 13-8 win and secured the second seed for this weekend’s Patriot League Tournament.

Sean Doyle ’16 opened the day’s scoring with an unassisted tally at the 9:54 mark, but the lead only lasted for two minutes as the Raiders added a goal of their own to level the contest at one.

Doyle again found the back of the net, sparking a three-goal Bison run that included goals by Ryan Joseph ’15 and Thomas Flibotte ’16. The 4-1 lead would hold for just a minute as Colgate scored with just under two minutes left in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, the Raiders took advantage of a man-up situation, following a pushing call against the Bison, pulling the game back within one. As time was winding down in the first half, Kyle O’Keefe ’13 took a feed from Alex Spring ’16 and fired off a shot that crossed the goal line as time expired, bringing the score to 5-3 in favor of the Bison.

In the opening eight minutes of the second half, the Orange and Blue surrendered four straight goals and the lead.

“We had some unforced turnovers during that stretch which we really could have limited. Some Colgate defensemen made a couple of nice plays and picked off a few passes … we just weren’t moving our feet hard enough and it cost us for a little,” Dickson said.

Head coach Frank Fedorjaka then pulled his all-league goalie, Kyle Feeney ’13, in favor of Sam Grinberg ’15. Grinberg was no stranger to this move, having replaced Feeney in a win against Drexel a year ago, making 11 saves and leading the Bison to victory.

“When I first got in, we were down 7-5, and I basically told the defense that we had Colgate where we wanted them,” Grinberg said. “The whole season we have battled back from deficits, so even after giving up four straight, I think the team was still confident that we would make a run and take the lead back.”

In the minutes following the switch, Doyle reignited the Bison offense off of a Chase Bailey ’13 feed, before Tom Black ’14 added a goal of his own on an extra-man opportunity, tying the game at seven.

Colgate then found the back of the net on its first shot against Grinberg, but the Orange and Blue defense then settled down, limiting the Raiders to just seven shots during the final period of play, and Ryan Gutowski ’13 dominated faceoffs down the stretch.

On the offensive side of the field, the Bison exploded for six goals, including two from Bailey and individual tallies from Todd Heritage ’14, Peter Burke ’14, Doyle and Flibotte.

“[The team] just got back to the basics and started to play loose but also with a sense of urgency,” Dickson said. “We ran a few set plays that worked beautifully and then our offense just started to flow.”

During that final 8-1 run, Dickson tallied four assists. Dickson ended the night with 42 assists total this season, a new Bison single-season record.

With the win, the Bison secured the second seed for this weekend’s Patriot League Tournament and will face Army Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa.

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Men Sports Track & Field Women

Records fall for track & field team

Emily Evancho

Staff Writer

The men’s and women’s track and field teams both had a successful weekend at the Bucknell Team Challenge on April 20. Along with the men’s first-place and the women’s second-place victory in the team standings, both teams also broke school records, including women’s Kim Nagotko ’15, who claimed school records in the 100 and 200 meters, and men’s Christian Lupica ’15 and Luke Webster ’13, who broke their records in the 110-meter high hurdles and discus, respectively.

“Both the men’s and women’s team had a very competitive meet between the other big schools that were there and the weather conditions,” Nagotko said. “Regardless of it all, we performed our best and proved to ourselves and the Patriot League that we are ready and nothing is going to get in our way of us bringing home two championships.”

The men’s team captured its fifth consecutive team title at the Bucknell Team Challenge, overshadowing second-place Penn State by 179 points. Lupica ran home with victories in the 400-meter hurdles (55.11 seconds), and in 110-meter high hurdles, with a record-shattering 13.96 seconds. Justin Hicks ’13 also excelled with wins in the 100 and 200 meters. Webster threw past his own school record in discus to land a mark of 172-3. Kevin Keller ’15 also dominated in the long jump with a mark of 23-10 1/4.

“Our jumps and sprints are very dangerous. We have the potential to do something that’s never been done before,” Keller said.

The women’s team placed second in the team standings with 128 points, falling behind only Penn State by 95 points. Bison victories came in the distance events from Caroline Tolli ’13 finishing first in the 800 meters (2:12.42). Tolli also helped to pull the win in the 4×800 with a final time of 9:56.81. Abby Monaghan ’13 grasped the third Orange and Blue triumph for the women’s team in discus 150-5. Nagotko also finished third overall in the 100-meter (12.05), and second in the 200-meter with 24.59 seconds. Sasha Hornock ’13 seized the third spot behind Nagotko in the 200-meter.

“This was a great weekend for all athletes across the board. Men and women had outstanding performances,” Hicks said. “As our Patriot League Championships are quickly approaching, our team is excited for a great meet and it’s showing through all of our great times and marks. Hopefully we can continue our success and carry this speed into the Patriot Leagues Championships.”

The men’s and women’s teams will compete again in the Penn Relays and Bloomsburg Maroon and Gold Invitational this weekend. After these events, both teams will move on to the Patriot League Championships beginning on May 3 in Bethlehem, Pa.

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Lacrosse Sports Women

Women’s lax loses contest to Marist

Lauren Boone

Senior Writer

The women’s lacrosse team ended its season with a 14-11 loss to Marist on April 20 at Tenney Stadium. Marist took advantage of a quick start, ending the Orange and Blue’s three-game winning streak, despite four goals and three assists from Katelyn Miller ’14.

The Red Foxes started off strong, scoring seven unanswered goals in the first ten minutes of play. Despite the shaky start, the Bison picked themselves back up, scoring four goals in a row. Madison Hurwitz ’13 assisted a goal to Ryan Wenk ’13 before scoring a goal of her own, while Miller scored a couple goals from free-positions. After tightening the score to 7-4, the Bison let up four more goals to the Red Foxes before the end of the first half.

Only 23 seconds into the latter half, the Red Foxes scored another goal, increasing their lead to eight. The Bison were able to outscore Marist 7-2 throughout the rest of the half, but were unable to make up enough ground to come away with the victory.

In the statistics round-up, the Bison led 31-27 in shots, forced 17 turnovers and were tied 18-18 on ground balls. The difference was made by the Marist goalie, who saved a total of 15 shots, compared to only seven saves for the Bison.

“Going into the game against Marist, we knew one of the main things we needed to do was win the draw,” Miller said. “We were unsuccessful in the beginning, which caused us to be down by a large deficit, but we never stopped fighting and had a great comeback, making the score within three goals. We had some great caused turnovers on defense and attack was working really well together towards the end of the game, but unfortunately we simply ran out of time. It was really emotional knowing it was the last game we will ever play with Madi, Adrienne [Wendling ’13] and Ryan, but I think this team has really improved since the beginning of the season and I think we are going to be even better next year.”

Miller ended the season setting career bests for herself, logging a total of 52 points, with 39 goals and 13 assists. Hurwitz also broke personal records this season, with 22 assists and 48 total points. She finishes her Bison career with a total of 129 points.

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Men Sports Tennis

M. tennis goes 1-1 at PL Tourney

Lauren Boone

Senior Writer

The men’s tennis team travelled to Syracuse, N.Y. this past weekend for the Patriot League Tournament. The third-seeded Bison swept the Lafayette Leopards 4-0 on April 19, securing their seventh consecutive trip to Patriot League semifinals, where they fell 4-3 in a close match against second-seeded Lehigh on April 20.

As during the regular season, the Bison quickly won the doubles point against Lafayette.  No. 1 doubles team Aidan Lynch ’14 and Evan Zimmer ’13 won their match 8-2, while Octavio Canibe ’15 and Kelly Morque ’13 ultimately secured the doubles point with a victory at No. 3 doubles 8-4. Nick Bybel ’16 and Josh Katten ’13 also won their doubles match 7-2.

The Bison carried the momentum into the singles play, with Zimmer, Katten and Canibe all defeating their opponent in straight sets to claim the overall victory for the Bison. Bybel, Morque and Kyle Rosen ’14 also secured wins for the Bison, but their victories did not factor into the final score.

Although they were able to defeat Lafayette in the quarterfinals, the Bison fell in a highly competitive match to the second-seeded Lehigh Mountain Hawks. The Bison defeated the Mountain Hawks 4-3 during regular season play, but Lehigh managed to get their revenge.

No. 1 doubles team Lynch and Zimmer lost their match 8-4, while No. 3 doubles team Canibe and Morque pulled out an 8-3 victory. In the final doubles matchup, the No. 2 team of Bybel and Katten fought hard, but dropped the match 9-8 (3), giving Lehigh the doubles point.

In the singles play, the Bison were unable to make up for lost points. Bybel won his No. 1 singles match 6-2, 7-5. Morque fought a three-set match but ultimately came out on top (3-6, 7-5, 6-4) at the No. 2 singles spot. Zimmer easily won his No. 3 singles match, recording a score of 6-2, 6-4. Katten lost his match 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 singles. Rosen also lost at the No. 5 singles position 7-5, 6-3. Finally, Canibe lost the No. 6 singles position in a close three-set match 2-6, 7-6, 6-4. 

The Bison concluded their season on April 24 with a 6-0 win at home against Bloomsburg. None of the Bison lost any match ups, as the Orange and the Blue finished with a 15-8 record. Though the Bison will be losing Katten, Morque, and Zimmer, a young core of talent will hopefully allow the men’s tennis team to improve on their record next year, as well as take a step closer to the ultimate goal of winning the Patriot League Tournament.

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Golf Men Sports Women

Women’s golf takes second at PL Champ.

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

The women’s and men’s golf teams competed this past weekend at the Patriot League Championship and Navy Invitational, respectively. The women finished in second place, narrowly missing out on a win, while the men slipped in a rough final round and ended their event in 16th place.

The women’s golf team hosted the inaugural Patriot League Women’s Golf Tournament at the Bucknell Golf Club. After two tight days of competition, the final result was not decided until the final few holes when Lehigh edged out the Bison by three strokes for the Patriot League title. Lehigh started the day with a five-stroke lead, which grew to 11 early on in the final round, but a late comeback by the Bison fell just short.

The Bison were led by three of its members. Bridget Wilcox ’14 opened the tournament with a three-over-par 73 and closed the tournament with a four-over 74 to claim the individual runner-up, only five strokes behind the individual champion. Wilcox was closely followed by Lauren Bernard ’14 who shot a 75 in the final round and tied for third individually despite playing through a painful foot injury that has left her sidelined for most of the season. Kasha Scott ’14 also played very well for the team and finished the tournament by going one-under-par in the final 10 holes to shoot a 76 on the day. The three juniors were recognized for their efforts with spots on the All-Patriot League Team.  Additionally, the head coach for the Bison, Kevin Jamieson, was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

The men’s team, meanwhile, was taking on tough competition at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md. The weekend began on a high note for the Bison, who found themselves in eighth place in the 21-team field after the tournament’s first round on April 20. The team’s score of 304 was slightly behind those of Navy and several ACC schools, and was ahead of all other Patriot League teams competing in the tournament. This result came from solid rounds by Schuyler Stitzer ’14 with a 77, Peter Scialabba ’15 with a 76, Jon Hartman ’13 with a 78 and Dan Bernard ’13 with a 73. Unfortunately, this momentum did not carry over to the final round, which did not see a single member of the team exceeding his score from the previous day. The team’s final round score of 331 dropped it to 16th place.

While the women’s golf team has finished its season, the men’s golf team will look to rebound this weekend at the Patriot League Championship, which will be hosted by Lehigh University.

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Sports

Male Rookie of the Year: Paul Petrov

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

After a wildly successful high school wrestling career, capped off by a 47-0 record in his senior year, Paul Petrov ’16 decided to bring his talents to Lewisburg to wrestle collegiately for the Bison. Petrov began his collegiate wrestling career the same way he ended his high school career and in the process earned the honor of the 2013 Male Rookie Athlete of the Year.

Even after having a great high school career, the transition for many athletes to competing at the collegiate level is a difficult one. For Petrov, another part of this transition was wrestling in a new weight class: 133 lb.

“I was an undersized 133 pounder wrestling opponents who were much bigger and stronger than me,” Petrov said.

This did not seem to make much of a difference to Petrov, who began the season on a hot streak, winning eight of his first 10 matches. Included in this stretch was a second-place finish at the Navy Classic and a third-place finish at the Michigan State Open.

Petrov attributes much of this early season success to the grueling training program the team endures to prepare for the season. These training sessions were high in both intensity and volume, which the first-year star initially found challenging.

“I definitely wrestled and lifted more this year than I ever did in high school,” Petrov said.

Despite these obstacles, he also admitted that the training was “a blast” and that the difficulty of the regimen over the long season brought the team closer together. Head coach Dan Wirnsberger commented that Petrov’s work ethic and the way he approached practice were important factors that allowed him to succeed.

“Paul came to work every day with a purpose and it showed up in his results,” Wirnsberger said.

Following his initial successes, Petrov hit a small mid-season slump at the Hoosier Duals and the beginning of the dual portion of the season, which included matches against nationally ranked opponents No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Iowa and No. 9 Central Michigan. Despite a few disappointing losses, the experience gained from competing against some of the best teams in the country prepared both Petrov and the Bison for the remainder of the dual season. After opening the Virginia Duals with a loss to his opponent from Virginia, who ranked 13th nationally, Petrov rebounded with back-to-back victories, including a 11-3 major decision over the 19th nationally ranked 133-lb. wrestler from No. 25 Old Dominion.

These two victories sparked a winning streak that carried Petrov through the second half of the season. In this span he won nine of 15 matches, beating opponents in the 133-lb. class from Franklin & Marshall, No. 24 Penn, George Mason, American and Cornell. Also included in this stretch was Petrov’s favorite match of the season, a victory by pin over Andrew Grabfelder of Columbia.

“I pinned my opponent and it helped give my team momentum. It helped them get ready and pumped up for their matches,” Petrov said of his match agains Grabfelder.

Following Petrov’s electrifying start, the Bison dominated the match and earned the 24-14 victory. For this reason, Wirnsberger was always glad to have Petrov in one of the first bouts of the day to set the tone for the Bison for the rest of the match.

“I was extremely confident whenever Paul took the mat because he brings a high level of energy to the team and who understands the sacrifice needed to be a successful Division 1 student athlete,” Wirnsberger said.

Although his season ended on a sour note with a sixth place finish at the EIWA Championships, it did not take away from the incredible season Petrov produced. His final individual record of 20-14 was one of the best on the team, and equally impressive records of 11-9 in dual matches and 6-2 in matches that ended in major decisions prove how big an impact Petrov had for the Bison in his opening collegiate season. This success was not enough for Petrov himself, though, as he feels there is still much more room for improvement.

“Our team has the talent and ability to do much better than the record we had this season. Our team can do better and will continue to improve each year,” Petrov said.

With regards to individual performance, there is also much work to be done. While admitting he had “a good season for a first year,” Petrov said, “I was not at national qualifier and was not on the podium at NCAAs. I have goals that I have not reached or completed yet.”

If there is one person besides Petrov who believes that these goals will be accomplished by the time his four years are over, it is his coach.

“I am excited about Paul’s future as he continues to grow and develop as a student athlete,” Wirnsberger said. “There is no question he has the ability to be an NCAA Champion and multiple time All-American. The best is yet to come as long as he stays humble and focused.”

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Sports

Female Rookie of the Year: Amanda Fazio

Katherine Harris

Senior Writer

Softball pitcher Amanda Fazio ’16 could have never anticipated the immediate success she would have when she first stepped onto the field this spring. While she had an extremely successful high school career, making all-conference teams and even Third Team All-State as a senior in New Jersey, the pitcher has taken her game to another level in her first season as a Bison.

“Amanda and I actually played with each other for some time prior to Bucknell. I can honestly say she has changed tremendously from then until now and she continues to impress me every day,” teammate Colie Escobar ’15 said.

While it is often hard for first-years to come into a program and succeed right away, standing out was not an issue for Fazio. It is no exaggeration to say that her success on the field was immediate. In fact, it was in the first game of the season for the Orange and Blue when Fazio was given the opportunity to shine on the mound.

Fazio was called upon in the sixth inning to close out a tight win against St. Bonaventure for the Bison. She did not disappoint, taking the mound for over four innings and allowing no earned runs while striking out four opposing batters as the Bison pulled out a gritty 8-7 extra-inning victory. With this outing, Fazio earned her first career win on the mound for the Orange and Blue and established her position as one of the pitchers crucial to the team’s success this season.

“Her attitude on the field is one of the most inspiring qualities about her and it’s contagious. Everytime she steps on the mound you can see in her body language she expects to give her best performance and nothing less,” Escobar said.

The success did not stop there as Fazio continued her first collegiate season. In March, only the sixth game of her career, Fazio pitched her first shutout when the Bison beat Seton Hall 4-0. Holding her opponents to only nine hits in five innings, the first-year also struck out three batters during the milestone.

“I came into this season with the goal of doing the best that I could possibly do,” Fazio said. “I am very competitive on the field, and can be very tough on myself at times. I knew that my freshman season would have some struggles, as all freshman do, but with those struggles came some great rewards and some great games…A lot may be demanded from you most days, but all of the hard work always pays off.”

Part of what has allowed her to be so successful is her attitude on the field. Fazio’s teammates describe her as being very mentally composed on the mound, a trait which is crucial for a pitcher’s success. It is often hard for first-years in any sport to achieve this level of composure on the playing field, making this trait of hers particularly impressive.

“She does an incredible job of keeping her mental game in check. I rarely ever see her lose her composure and it’s extremely hard to rattle her,” Escobar said.

As the end of the season approaches, Fazio has been even more on top of her game. On April 13, the pitcher threw one of the best games the team has seen in recent years against Lafayette for a 4-0 victory for the Bison. Fazio pitched a perfect game into the seventh inning with eight strikeouts, and by the end of the game had allowed just one hit for her third shutout in her last five games.

Fazio has also been recognized on the conference level for her success, earning Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors after her impressive performance against Lafayette. As the end of the season approaches, the pitcher has won eight games while throwing a team-high 126 innings, and Fazio still has a chance to improve on both accounts. She has also posted an ERA of 2.78 in her appearances on the mound, as well as a team-high 92 strikeouts for the season.

Besides having incredible success on the field, Fazio has also stood out as a great leader and competitor to her teammates. Her ability to lead by example in practice and in games has been crucial to much of the team’s success this season. Fazio has been able to step up and be vocal about her team improving, but she also provides support for her team.

“My teammates are the best ones out there,” Fazio said. “We spend a lot of time together, and they are always there to help you out on your good days and bad days. Coming in as a freshman, it meant a lot to me and my freshman class to have such a support system behind us our going into our first season.”

Fazio’s teammates are fortunate to have her on the team for three more years and excited about the prospect of her continuing to improve in the years to come. She will have to work hard in the offseason to stay on top of her game, as her opponents will be doing the same. Teammates anticipate that she will continue to improve due to her great work ethic.

“Bucknell is very fortunate to have her on the team because I believe she is the player we need to push this team in the forward direction,” Escobar said. “In her four years, I expect the team to continue to improve and remain successful.”

More important at the moment is what Fazio can do to help her team stay in the running for conference playoffs that are quickly approaching. In her past five appearances she has allowed opponents only one run, while posting a 0.24 ERA and allowing only a .170 batting average. The first-year seems completely prepared for the challenge: as the season goes on her performance only continues to improve.

“With a new coaching staff this year, we have all been working hard to improve our program and make a name for ourselves in the Patriot League,” Fazio said. “I know we would all love to have some Patriot League titles over the next few years and continue to play top level competition and grow as a team.”

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Sports

Male Athlete of the Year: Mike Muscala

Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The Leopards were closing in. With 7:17 remaining in the men’s Patriot League basketball championship between the top-seeded Bison and second-seeded Lafayette, the Orange and Blue found themselves clinging to a 41-38 lead. The team and the Orange and Blue faithful knew it was time for Mike Muscala ’13, the Roseville, Minn. native, to take over. And Muscala, as he has done so often throughout his decorated four-year career, took over the game, scoring six crucial points and essentially sealing the game and NCAA tournament berth for the Bison.

Muscala, who posted 20 points and 11 rebounds in that game, had arguably the most impressive season not just in program history, but in Patriot League history. Muscala recorded a nation-best 22 double-doubles in the season, averaging 18.7 points and 11.1 rebounds a game. Not to be lost in the dominance of Muscala during the Patriot League Tournament was his performance when the Orange and Blue traveled to Columbia, Mo. to take on then 12th-ranked Missouri. Muscala put the team on his back that game, posting an incredible 25 points and 14 rebounds in an eventual 66-64 defeat. Despite the loss, Muscala put himself on the national radar as one of the top big men in the country and the Bison as one of the top mid-major teams in the country.

“This year I told him [Muscala] he had to be a more effective passer and cut down on turnovers,” head coach Dave Paulsen said. “His assist to turnover ratio went way up and he almost led our team in assists.”

The numbers only begin to tell the story. On top of posting the most impressive numbers of his four-year collegiate career, Muscala won the Patriot League Player of the Year award for the second time in his career. He also won League Defensive Player of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Patriot League Tournament MVP and was selected as a member of the Senior CLASS All-America First Team, which is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athletes in Division I men’s basketball.

Muscala’s willingness to give it his all on both ends of the court was a major reason the team was one of the most dominant defensive teams in the nation. Despite all these awards, Muscala’s favorite memories were being a part of the NCAA March Madness.

“Making the NCAA Tournament as a sophomore and senior and winning the Patriot League Tournament Championship,” Muscala said. “Being a part of March Madness was very exciting.”

The 6’11” center came to Lewisburg in 2009, along with fellow seniors Joe Willman, Bryson Johnson and Colin Klebon, looking to help turn around a team that went 7-23 the year before under then first-year head coach Paulsen. Since his arrival, the team improved each year, winning the Patriot League regular season title the last three years and earning NCAA tournament berths in two of those three years. After averaging 9.9 points and 4.9 rebounds his rookie year, Muscala increased his total to 14.9 points and 7.3 rebounds, helping lead the team to the NCAA tournament and winning his first Patriot League Player of the Year award.

“Mike improved significantly every year,” Paulsen said. “Each spring I gave him a specific area of his game I wanted him to make substantial progress in. Each ensuing season he far surpassed my expectations. After his freshman year, we told Mike he had to go inside more and get to the foul line. He more than doubled his FT attempts that year and is the career leader at Bucknell in career makes and attempts.”

Muscala improved still in his junior year, and while the team fell in the Patriot League Championship against Lehigh, he helped lead the Bison to a first-round NIT upset over top-seeded Arizona, posting 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in the victory.

Muscala leaves the program as part of a senior class that won 92 games together, the most in program history.

“Mike was so coachable which helped him make those improvements but was also an inspiration to all of his teammates,” Paulsen said. “This was a tremendously coachable group and much of that credit goes to Mike and his fellow captains.”

There is no doubt that Muscala will go down as one of the greatest players in the history of the University’s men’s basketball program. His presence will surely be remembered for years to come.