The Bison softball team fought hard against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in a three-game series on April 8-9, but dropped all three games. Their record is now 21-10 overall and 6-3 in the Patriot League.

The Bison and the Mountain Hawks took 11 innings to reach a decision in the first game on April 8. After the 10th inning ended in a 2-2 tie, a one-off double for Lehigh finished the game with a final score of 2-3. Raeanne Geffert ’20 pitched 10.1 innings, including nine innings where she didn’t give up a run. Both runs for the Orange and Blue were scored in the third inning, both of which were plated by Marisa Alemany ’20. Meghan Kovac ’18 had two doubles in the game, increasing her season total to seven. Alemany, Ryanne Rokos ’19, Paulina Gutkin ’18, and Jacklyn Tyburk ’17 contributed singles in the loss.

During the second game of the day, the Bison fell short to Lehigh 0-5, hitting an offensive slump. Lehigh’s pitcher threw a two-hit shutout, only allowing two singles by Halie Mariano ’20 and Christina Martinez ’17. The Mountain Hawks were able to take advantage of four walks given up by Bison pitchers and three fielding errors to secure the win.

In the final game on April 9, the Bison dropped their third straight game, losing 0-1. The Orange and Blue had two hits, which put runners on base in five of the seven innings. Gutkin doubled in addition to a single from Anna Gimmestad ’19. Carolyn Wan ’17, who led the team in walks last season, took two walks, adding to her team-leading total this season.

“After a tough weekend at Lehigh, our main focus as a team moving forward is to play our game and execute in the big moments,” Lara Bean ’17 said.

The Bison will be back in action on April 15 as they travel to Robert Morris University, followed by Penn State on April 19.

“We have some things to work on in practice this week, but I have no doubt that we will bounce back when we resume Patriot League games in a couple of weeks. I know that if we play our game we can beat Lehigh in the postseason,” Rokos said.