Author: Cooper Sutton

By Joe Ruby

Writer

The men’s tennis team earned its first win of the season on Friday, defeating host St. Francis (Pa.) by a score of 6-1. Kyle Rosen ’14 and Chris Tortora ’14 each won their first matches as Bison.

In the doubles phase of the contest, the Bison took two of three and clinched the doubles point, with the team of Josh Katten ’13 and Kelly Morque ’13 winning the second doubles match 8-2 and the team of Rosen and Scott Bernstein ’14 earning the 8-3 victory in the third doubles match. Anton Kovic ’11 and Evan Zimmer ’13 were edged out in the first doubles match by a score of 8-7.

The Bison kept control of the competition in the singles phase, winning five of the six matches, all in two sets. Gregg Cohenca ’12, competing in the second slot, improved his singles record in duals to 3-2 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Youlian Natchev. In the third through sixth spots, Rosen, Mark Malloy ’11, Tortora, and Gregory Maxson ’13 each won their first dual matches of the year for the Bison. Tortora and Maxson were particularly dominant, each conceding only two games to their opponents.

The Bison will face non-conference opponent Niagara at 6 p.m. today in Olean, N.Y. The team will remain in Olean to face St. Bonaventure at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

By Lindsay Regruto

Staff Writer

The women’s softball team put up a strong fight in the Longwood Tournament last weekend, but it was not enough to capture a win as the Bison went 0-4 for the weekend.

“This weekend was a great learning experience. We took strides in the right direction and learned a lot about ourselves,” Meredith Dickson ’12 said. “We know what we need to work on to be successful and be Patriot League Champions again.”

The Orange and Blue battled it out with Stony Brook in their first match-up of the Longwood tournament on Saturday, losing 1-0. The Bison defense came out strong with a 1-2-3 inning for Alex MacLean ’13 in the third. Both teams were connecting offensively, but neither the Bison nor the Seawolves could bring any of those hits home. The scoreboard remained empty going into the seventh inning. Following a combination of Bison errors, the Seawolves managed to bring in a run late in the inning. Sam Rollandi ’11 singled in the bottom of the seventh, but it was the Bison’s lone hit for the inning.

The Bison came out strong in the second game of the day against Quinnipiac, losing 5-4. The Orange and Blue took advantage of the struggling Bobcat defense to put four runs on the board in the second. Later that inning, pitcher Bridget Gates ’13 had a 3-up-3-down inning to solidify the lead. The fourth inning saw momentum change in favor of the Bobcats as they managed back to back doubles, ending in two runs.

With the score gap decreased, both teams continued to battle it out. Quinnipiac managed to tie up the game in the bottom of the sixth with two more runs. With the score still tied at the end of the seventh, the game was pushed into extra innings. The eighth inning saw no addition to the scoreboard. In the ninth, Quinnipiac managed to put runners in scoring position and brought in the final run of the game on a wild pitch.

The Bison lost to Quinnipiac once again on Sunday with a score of 8-1. In the second, Alison Ford ’11 singled to get on base and stole home in a double steal to give the Orange and Blue a one-run lead. Quinnipiac answered later that inning with a run of its own to tie the game. The Bobcats managed to gain three runs off the Orange and Blue in the third for a 4-1 lead. The Bison defense rallied in the fourth to hold off the Bobcats, but it didn’t last long as the Bobcats scored again in the fifth. The Bison could not get their offense started and were unable to bring anyone else around the bases. Quinnipiac scored three more in the sixth to give the Bison their third loss.

The Orange and Blue lost their final game of the weekend 6-2 against Longwood. Longwood was the first to erase its goose egg off the board, scoring in the third with one run off the Bison. The Bison answered with a run of their own in the fourth to tie the game. The Lancers added at least one run to the board each inning for the remainder of the game. Jessie Snyder ’11 doubled to right center in the seventh to take advantage of the Bison’s last chance to score. Ford singled to bring Snyder home, giving the Bison one more run, but the short rally was not enough.

“This weekend was definitely a tough one for the team, but we came away from it knowning that there are a lot of things to fix, and we’re all committed to making those adjustments,” Snyder said. “We know that we have the potential as a team, it’s just a matter of making things happen.”

The Bison will be back on the field March 11-13 at the George Mason Tournament in Fairfax, Va.

By Chris McCree

Writer

The baseball team claimed its first victories of the year against the University of Richmond last weekend in Virginia. The Bison lost their first game 4-2 but won their next two 5-3 and 4-3 in a series that marked a stark contrast from the team’s previous series against James Madison University.

“I felt that our team played very well this weekend,” David Duffett ’12 said.  “It was important for us to come back from last weekend and put together a couple good wins. We combined a few quality starts from our pitching staff with a good offensive effort from our position players.”

The series started off with a 4-2 loss for the Bison as their comeback efforts in the ninth inning fell just short. After loading the bases with one out, Richmond pitcher Jacob Mayers was able to induce a game-ending double play and seal the win for the Spiders. Outfielder Matt Lamore ’12 was the Bison’s primary offensive threat for the game, going three-for-four and falling just a triple short of the cycle.

After losing their fifth straight, the Orange and Blue won their first game of the year the following day. The game featured an effective combination of hitting and pitching as the team registered 11 hits and allowed just three runs on the day. Jack Boehm ’12 pitched the final five innings of the game and didn’t allow a single run in the 5-3 victory.

The climax of the trip came during Sunday’s match. Colby Vanderbeck ’14 sent the Bison home dramatically as he hit a solo home run to break a 3-3 tie in the top of the ninth. The Bison held on for the 4-3 victory as relief pitcher Steve Carlin ’11 was credited with the win after retiring the side in the bottom of the ninth. Doug Shribman ’11 and Bob Donato ’12 each hit home runs of their own, contributing to the other three runs scored by the Bison offense. Shribman’s homer was the thirtieth of his career, which places him at a tie for the most in team history.

Considerable improvements by the Bison pitching staff were the primary reason for the team’s success this weekend.

“As a staff, we felt like we had a lot to prove after last weekend, and we stepped up to the challenge. We had three solid starts on the mound, and our bullpen kept us in every game,” Carlin said.

Coming off a series in which they surrendered 91 runs in four games, the Orange and Blue pitchers strung together three quality starts and recorded a team ERA of 2.42 over the series.

The Orange and Blue now set their sights on next weekend’s opponent, Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Hoping to build on this weekend’s success, the team will travel to Virginia for a four-game series against the Keydets.

“Richmond was a big test for us as a team, especially after a disappointing opening weekend against James Madison. Overall, we really responded well and showed a little glimpse of what we are capable of.  We hope to keep this momentum going into next weekend at VMI,” Carlin said.