The Bison softball team traveled to Spartansburg, S.C. for their opening weekend at the Upstate Classic, which consisted of four games. From this competitive trip, the Bison left with two wins and two losses.

On Friday afternoon, the Orange and Blue kicked off their season by beating Towson by a score of 9-1. Pitcher Raeanne Geffert ’20 had a fantastic game with eight strikeouts. Meanwhile, teammate Chase Knapp ’23 excelled for the Bison with a three-run home run that brought in Kailyn Lorberter ’23, Jess Hom ’21 and Bella DeRiso ’22.

Later that evening, in their game against Marshall University, the Bison fell 4-9. To the start of the game, Knapp helped the Orange and Blue take the lead by a single run. However, the Bison were unable to maintain the momentum and eventually lost by five runs.

On Saturday, the Bison went 1-1 for the day, taking on Saint Francis University and the University of South Carolina-Upstate.

The Orange and Blue won a convincing game against Saint Francis by a score of 10-2. The game remained tied at 1-1 until the fourth inning when the Bison broke things open. Allyse Volpe ’22 knocked in a run while scoring two of her own. Other key contributors for the game were Hom, Knapp, Nicole Rivait ’22, Ava Fairbanks ’22, Taylor Wolfgang ’21 and Lorberter.

Against the University of South Carolina-Upstate, the Bison fell by a close score of 2-3. Leading until the seventh inning, the Bison were unable to maintain their lead as the Spartans scored two runs off two singles and an error to win on a walk-off.

Overall, the Bison had a successful weekend, resulting in a 2-2 record for the season so far. The softball team is traveling again this upcoming to Buies Creek, N.C., where they will play five games over the course of the three days against Howard University, Campbell University, Mount St. Mary’s (MD) University and Saint Francis University.