Last week, Bucknell Softball traveled to Hamilton, NY to compete in a three-game series versus Colgate, winning one game and losing two. 

The first game was on Sunday, April 14th, when Bucknell was defeated 9-3. Madison Roukey ’25 was the starting pitcher for Bucknell and immediately ran into trouble, giving up two runs.

In the third inning, the Bison struck back with hits from Sarah Zimmerman ’27, Haley Speicher ’26, MaKenzie Hilling ’25 and Savannah Jones ’25. Jones came up clutch with a huge double to left field to score Speicher and Hilling to gain a 3-2 advantage. 

The Bison lead didn’t last as Colgate took advantage of their at-bats. By the fifth inning, Colgate had a substantial lead and Hunter Vestal ’24 replaced Roukey in the circle. Then, to start the sixth, Mea Consentino ’26 came in to pitch. Bucknell tried to rally in the final inning, but could not generate any offense. Bucknell ended the game with a 6-run deficit. 

On Monday, April 15th, the teams competed in a double-header. Bucknell lost the first game 8-5 and won the second game 9-1. 

Game one of the day started off promising for Bucknell as they led 1-0 after the first inning. Jones started in the circle and pitched two scoreless innings. The third inning is where Jones and Vestal ran into trouble, letting up a combined seven runs. 

In the fifth inning, Bucknell added a few more runs. However, at the bottom of the sixth inning, Colgate added an insurance run to take an 8-3 advantage. The Bison were able to add two more runs before the game concluded.

Game two was completely different from the rest of the series. Bucknell came out with a big first inning, scoring eight runs. The inning started with four straight singles as Speicher, Hilling, Smith and Brooke Popella ’27 all got on base safely.  

In this game, the Bison made Roukey their starting pitcher. For the first four innings, she commanded Colgate, only allowing two hits. In the third inning, Bucknell added another run taking a 9-0 advantage. Colgate scored their only run of the game in the fifth inning. 

This win ended the Bison’s six-game losing streak and gave head coach Sarah Caffrey her 50th career win at Bucknell. This ties Courtnay Foster for the sixth most in program history.  

Bucknell will remain on the road to play reigning Patriot League Champion Boston University on April 20-21.