The softball team won its series against Patriot League rival Lafayette on April 5 and 6, besting the Leopards 2-1 in the three-game road competition.

“Overall, I felt very good about the team’s performance. Even though our hitting game struggled on Sunday, we still were able to win the series,” Cindy Cherness ’16 said.

The Bison started off the series strong on April 5 with the first game of a doubleheader against the Leopards. The team’s offense was kick-started by a two-RBI double by Mariah Midyette ’16 in the first inning of the game. The offense continued to perform strongly throughout the match, including a four-run seventh inning. On the mound, Lara Bean ’17 and Cherness held their opponent to just three runs on the day, with Cherness earning the win in relief after the 7-3 victory.

Offense continued to rule the day in the second half of the doubleheader for the Orange and Blue, leading to an impressive 12-0 victory in five innings. Christina Martinez ’17 shined with two runs and four RBI, including her first career home run. Tori Robinson ’15 also had a notable performance with three runs and one RBI. Dana Nielsen ’16 earned the win by pitching a complete game while striking out four batters and allowing just two hits.

“I think that we came out very strong and aggressive on Saturday, putting pressure on the Lafayette defense, causing them to make errors, and capitalizing on those errors to generate momentum,” Cheyanna Young ’16 said.

In the final game of the series on Sunday, it was pitching that kept the Bison in the game, with Nielsen holding the Leopards to just three hits and one run in 5.1 innings. Cydnee Sanders ’15 earned the lone run for the team after hitting a double in the fourth, and Young and Midyette both had two hits each on the day. These efforts proved to not be enough, with Cherness coming in to relieve Nielsen in the sixth and being unable to stop the Leopards from scoring the winning run in the 2-1 loss.

“I think the difference between our team performance on Saturday and Sunday was the result of a lack of intensity, which came from a combined sense of complacency with our accomplishments from Saturday and an unfortunate underestimation of our opponent,” Young said.

The Bison will continue their Patriot League competition at home this weekend with a three-game home series versus Patriot League-leading Lehigh. Play will commence tomorrow at noon.