CLERMONT, Fla. – The Colby College softball team split their first two matchups at THE Spring Games as they fell to No. 18 University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, 9-0, before earning the comeback victory over Buffalo State College, 8-7.
Game 1: UW-Whitewater 9, Colby 0 (5 Innings)
The University of Wisconsin at Whitewater (12-0) registered runs in each of the first four frames of the game to earn the 9-0 victory over Colby (3-1).
The Mules were led offensively by sophomore
Ella Wilcox who went 2-2 with a double while junior
Victoria Ramirez and senior
Colleen McAvoy each recorded a hit in the setback.
Junior
Kathryne Clay started the contest in the circle for the Mules, going over two innings followed by an appearance by junior
KC DeSarno.
Game 2: Colby 8, Buffalo State 7
The Mules struck first with a pair of runs in the opening frame, when junior
Emma Burnham led off with a double to center field, advanced to third on an infield single by sophomore
Caroline DeSimone and scored on a delayed double steal. DeSimone scored later in the inning on a passed ball.
The 2-0 advantage was shot-lived however, as Buffalo State College (4-8) plated two runs without a hit in the bottom of the first inning.
The game remained tied until the third inning when Colby tallied two runs off a RBI single by Ramirez and a sacrifice fly by Wilcox before sophomore Julianna Kiley ripped a RBI single to center field to give the Mules a 5-2 lead going into the bottom of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Bengals hit a grand slam to center field to give them the lead. They added an insurance run off an RBI double in the fifth.
Down to her final strike, junior
Kelsey Sullivan launched a three-run home run to give the Mules the lead in the top of the seventh inning before freshman
Sophia Meade sat down the Bengals in the bottom half of the inning to secure the win.
Burnham was 2-3 with a double and Sullivan was 1-3 with the game-winning three-run homer and 3 RBI on the day. Meade pitched seven innings in relief allowing five runs off seven hits with six strikeouts to earn her first collegiate victory.
Colby returns back to the diamond on Sunday when it battles Lewis & Clark College at 10 a.m. followed by Westminster College (Mo.) at 12:30 p.m.