KISSIMMEE, Fla. (3/15/24) - The Nichols College softball team stumbled in both games of their double-header at the Spring Games on Thursday evening. The Bison fell in walk-off fashion, 5-4 to Hamline University in the opener, before taking a 7-4 loss against Loras College in the nightcap at the Fortune Road Athletic Complex.

 The Bison fall record to 2-6 on the season with the losses.

Game #1 vs Hamline University

Hamline retired the first three Nichols batters before scoring a pair of runs in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. However, the middle of the order went to work in the top of the second for Nichols, beginning with a Lily Fangel RBI single. To follow, Bailey Littlefield used a sacrifice bunt to move both baserunners into scoring position, which brought up Kyla Felicani who plated both with a base hit into left center.

Hamline went on to score the equalizer in the bottom half of the second. The score remained deadlocked at 3-3 through the next three innings.
The Bison plated the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth after Littlefield got on base with a walk. Sophomore Mary Jo-Laudati entered the game as a pinch runner, and eventually advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Felicani. Ava Slavinsky then singled to left center, which brought Laudati around to score to make it 4-3 Bison.

The Bison swapped out pitchers in the sixth inning was able to hold Hamline scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, but it wasn't without a challenge. The Pipers loaded the bases with three RBI singles to each outfield location, which forced the Bison into a second pitching change. Olivia Pedro entered the game as the third in the rotation and struck out the first batter she faced before forcing the Pipers into a ground-out to short.

Nichols couldn't hold the Pipers back a second time in the seventh, as Hamline won by way of a walk-off on two RBI singles, 5-4.
Pedro (0-3) shouldered the loss for the Bison, allowing two runs on three hits with one strikeout. Starter Chelsea Indyk worked through 5.0 innings, striking out three with three earned runs against on four hits. Freshman Ally McNamee allowed three hits through 0.1 innings.

Game #2 vs Loras College

The Bison ran into some error troubles in the first inning against the Duhawks, which put them in an early 4-0 hole. However, the Bison started to get things going in the bottom of the third as Kyla Felicani was hit by a pitch and Allie Silliman reached via an infield single to put runners at first and third with one out. Two batters later, Hannah Cozza plated the lead runner with a sacrifice ground-out, making it a 4-1 game. Later on, Felicani knocked in another run for the Bison in the bottom of the fourth inning with an RBI single to cut the Duhawk lead in half, 4-2.

The Duhawks restored their three-run edge in the top of the fifth, which transitioned into a scoreless sixth inning for both sides. Jumping ahead to the seventh, both teams added two runs apiece, with Nichols' scoring both off a reach on an error by Lilly Fangel. Following the sequence, Loras made a change in the circle to retire the final three Bison batters, earning them the 7-4 win.

Freshman Cassidy Machado (0-1) was the starter in the circle for Nichols but was relieved by Pedro in the first inning following four runs allowed on three hits with a walk. Pedro finished out the game with three runs allowed on seven hits, fanning two batters.

Softball will wrap up their Florida trip with a 12:30 PM matchup against Milwaukee School of Engineering (3-3) and a 3:00 PM game against Earlham College (2-6) on Friday at Sleepy Hollow Athletic Complex.