The Bison softball team swept Holy Cross in an undefeated weekend on March 31-April 1, outscoring the Crusaders 28-3 in the three games played at home. The Orange and Blue are in second place in the Patriot League with a 12-18 record overall and 4-2 in the  League.

The Orange and Blue won their first game of the series 6-1. In the bottom of the fifth with two outs, Meghan Kovac ’18 drove a ball over the left-field fence for a two-run home run, the 21st of her career. With the blast, she has surpassed the University record for career home runs, which hasn’t been topped since 2007.

Julienne Egofske ’20 drove in a single, which allowed Paulina Gutkin ’18 to score at the bottom of the fourth inning. Jess Hom ’21, during her third start of the season, contributed a single and teammate Anna Gimmestad ’19 added a two-run double. On the mound, Raeanne Geffert ’20 had another solid pitching performance, striking out six batters and allowing no walks.

The Bison dominated their second game of the day with three home runs in a five-inning win. Marisa Alemany ’20, Gimmestad, and Taylor Wolfgang ’21 all homered to lead the Orange and Blue to their 8-0 win. Alemany had a three-run homer, as well as a single, while Gimmestad and Wolfgang both offered two-run homers. Lauren Hadley ’19 and Ryanne Rokos ’19 added one single apiece. Geffert pitched three scoreless innings, while Lauren Lichtenwalner ’20 pitched two scoreless innings in relief.

“Our pitchers did an incredible job getting out of a couple tough spots, our defense made some really good plays, and our offense was just on… It was a true team effort. Every single person contributed to our wins this weekend,” Hom said.

Rokos hit her first career home run in the Bison’s 14-2 win during their final game of the series. The Bison had nine hits and seven walks, including Rokos’ homer, triples from Alemany and Hadley, and a double by Wolfgang. Tara Baglivo ’21, Gutkin and Halie Mariano ’20 all singled once and Hom singled twice. The contest was scoreless until the second inning, when the Bison exploded for five runs to break the game open. Geffert struck out four batters and pitched three scoreless innings.

“We spent a lot of time in practice last week focusing on some things that we knew we would see from Holy Cross, and it was great to see how we took those adjustments that we made in practice, and translated them into the games,” Rokos said.

It was the first time the Bison have swept the Crusaders since 2013, and their total runs over the three-game homestand equalled that of the past 12 games combined. The Orange and Blue will look to continue this strong offensive effort when they travel to Lafayette for a three-game series on April 7-8.