The Bison softball team improved to 6-4 for the season after a successful weekend at the Seahawk Softball Classic with impressive performances from several athletes. Over Feb. 26-28, the Bison traveled to Wilmington, N.C. to face UNCW in three games and North Carolina Central in two. The Orange and Blue went 4-1 over the weekend, with their only loss coming from UNCW in extra innings on the first day of the invitational. Throughout the rest of the weekend, the Bison followed up by defeating UNCW in the next two rematches and North Carolina Central in their two match-ups.

The Bison got off to a difficult start with their 3-1 loss in nine innings against UNCW. Amanda Fazio ’16 had a strong pitching performance, holding UNCW scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning when they tied the game. Fazio started the Bison off with their 1-0 lead in the third inning by scoring on a single up the middle by Meghan Kovac ’18. It seems that the Bison were unable to convert their opportunities throughout the game, as they went 1-for-13 with runners on base.

On Feb. 27, the Orange and Blue rematched UNCW and faced North Carolina Central, both ending in wins. The Bison returned in full force and defeated UNCW 12-4 for their first game of the day. Dana Nielsen ’16 pitched the game, only giving up the four runs in one inning. Kovac and Fazio also returned with strong performances. Kovac stretched her hitting streak to eight games after the day’s two victories. Fazio had three hits and drove in three runs against UNCW. Chaylen Andolino ’17 and Jacee Almond ’17 were also big contributors, with three hits each. The Bison led 4-0 in the third inning, but the Seahawks tied it up 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth. The Orange and Blue made sure to convert and produced eight more runs to assure their victory by the end of the game.

Later in the day, the Bison shut out North Carolina Central 8-0 in six innings. Fazio pitched five scoreless innings before turning it over to Cindy Cherness ’16, who closed out the game. Ryanne Rokos ’19 and Lauren Hadley ’19 both contributed with a pair of hits and a single, respectively. Kovac continued her hitting streak and went 3-for-4 at bat this game. Christina Martinez ’17 and Andolino both drove in two runs this game. After a dominant performance, the Bison followed up with another pair of victories the following day.

The Orange and Blue won in a pair of shutouts against UNCW, 5-0 and North Carolina Central, 8-0. The strong pitching performances from Cherness and Nielsen were a big part of the Bison’s success on the last day of the classic. Cherness pitched an almost perfect game against North Carolina Central, only walking one batter. Nielsen performed in her shutout against UNCW. The North Carolina Central game victory came from an all-around effort by the Bison, with seven players contributing hits. Shannon Murphy ’19, Almond, and Andolino each had one single. Kovac drove home two runs, while Murphy, Anna Gimmestad ’19 and Andolino brought home one. Following up Cherness’ outstanding performance, Nielsen brought a shutout victory to the Bison against UNCW. The Orange and Blue continued their strong offensive performance and piled up 13 hits. Kovac, Gimmestad, Andolino, Carolyn Wan ’17, Almond, Martinez, and Rokos all contributed to this number.

After a strong 4-1 performance at the Seahawk Classic, Kovac has stretched her hitting streak to 10 games, earning her the Corvias Patriot League Player of the Week award. Cherness was named Corvias Patriot League Pitcher of the Week. The Orange and Blue will travel to Newark, Del. next for the Blue Hen Blast, where they will face University of Delaware, Delaware State, and Norfolk State from Mar. 5-6.