The Bison softball team (10-15) spent their spring break playing a total of 13 games against challenging opponents in California. In their second leg of the trip, on March 15, the team kicked off the Saint Mary’s Tournament in Moraga, Calif. The Orange and Blue led off the first day with a 5-3 win over Manhattan, followed by a close 2-1 loss to the Saint Mary Gaels. The second day saw repeating results, with a 4-3 win over Manhattan and a 6-1 loss to the Gaels.

Lauren Lichtenwalner ’20 pitched in the team’s first game against Manhattan. Lichtenwalner limited Manhattan to three runs on 10 hits and four walks in 6⅓ innings. She was able to escape her way out of many tight situations in her 137-pitch outing. Seven Manhattan runners were stranded in scoring position in the game.

Taylor Wolfgang ’21 started off a big four-run second inning with an RBI double. Allyse Volpe ’22 added an RBI single, while Nicole Rivait ’22 and Jess Hom ’21 notched an RBI apiece. The Bison had positive contributions from many players in their 5-3 win to start the tournament.

When put in the position to make big contributing plays, Wolfgang said she lends it to her preparation to get her through. “A line my previous coach from high school used to say was, ‘right kid, right spot.’ So whenever I am in a situation in which the game is on the line or I need to be clutch for my team, that line always pops into my head and allows me to have confidence in myself,” Wolfgang said.

The Orange and Blue’s second game of the day was against the tournament hosts, the Saint Mary Gaels. The Bison came up short despite a commendable effort by pitcher Raeanne Geffert ’20. Geffert went six strong without giving up an earned run. She struck out nine and gave up only five hits. The game took off in the fourth inning when both teams made their only runs of the game. The Bison struck first in the top half thanks to an RBI double by Wolfgang. But the Gaels answered back in the bottom half of the inning with two unearned runs after two errors committed by the Orange and Blue.

The Bison wrapped up their trip on March 16 with another win over Manhattan before falling again to Saint Mary. The Bison defeated Manhattan 4-3 in nine innings with Lauren Hadley ’19 scoring the winning run. Geffert completed the game with a career-high 13 strikeouts. The first three innings saw no scoring, but the Bison got on the board in the fourth after a sacrifice fly by Anna Gimmestad ’19. In the sixth inning, the Bison scored off an RBI single from Wolfgang, but Manhattan responded in the next inning with an RBI groundout. There was a Manhattan runner on second at the bottom of the ninth, but Geffert didn’t let her go any further and closed out the win. The Bison finished the victory with seven hits.

“Getting the win the second day was an excellent way to wrap up spring break, and we are extremely excited to open against Colgate this weekend. We saw a very high level of competition this preseason, and over spring break, and that will help up our game for Patriot League play,” Geffert.

In the last game of the tournament, the Gaels put together 10 hits for the 6-1 win over the Bison. The sole run for the Orange and Blue came from an RBI single by Wolfgang in the fourth inning. Marisa Alemany ’20 scored on the play after reaching base three batters prior.

As the Bison return to Lewisburg, they look ahead to their first taste of Patriot League play this season. Colgate will come to Becker Field on March 23-24 to face the Bison in a three-game series.