The Bison softball team went 3-1 in their second weekend of play at the Liberty Softball Challenge from Feb. 22-24 in Lynchburg, Va. The Orange and Blue entered the weekend with a record of 1-4 following their opening weekend, where the team went up against top-notch competition at LSU. Their overall record now stands at 4-5.

The Bison started off the tournament on Feb. 22 with a 7-1 win against Valparaiso. Their second game of the day against Wright State was postponed.

During the second game on Feb. 23, the Bison improved their weekend record to 2-0 with a win against the Princeton Tigers. Pitchers Lauren Lichtenwalner ’20 and Raeanne Geffert ’20 combined for a shutout in a 3-0 win. Lichtenwalner started the game with four scoreless innings, and Geffert finished off the game allowing only one hit. The Bison put two runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. Allyse Volpe ’22 hit an RBI single for Tara Baglivo ’21 to clinch the first run of the game. Marisa Alemany ’21 later hit a sacrifice fly to score Nicole Rivait ’22, advancing the lead to 2-0. In the sixth inning, pinch runner Bella DeRiso ’22 scored a run on a Baglivo single. In the end, the Bison had seven hits to wrap up the day.

On Feb. 24, the Bison finished with an 11-4 win over Delaware State and a 0-1 loss to Liberty. Collecting 18 hits against Delaware State, the Bison extended their winning streak to three victories. Rivait had a highlight performance with two doubles, a single, and two RBIs. On the mound, Lichtenwalner gave up two runs and three walks, while striking out seven batters in six innings. Geffert struck out two as she closed out the final inning.

Geffert pitched six innings against Liberty, giving up just one run. The Liberty Flames scored their lone run in the bottom of the sixth, which proved to be the difference in the contest. The Orange and Blue threatened the Flames in the fourth inning by loading the bases, but the Liberty pitcher got a foul out and a strikeout to stave off the Bison’s opportunity.

“This past weekend we definitely made adjustments from our first weekend, and I think they translated well to the field. We still have some areas to refine, but overall, I’m very optimistic about this upcoming weekend and season,” Alemany said.

The Bison will play five games on March 1-3 at the District Classic in Washington, D.C., where they will take on Georgetown, Saint Joseph’s, Howard, Harvard, and Brown.