DUDLEY, Mass. (3/7/2025) – The Nichols College Softball Team is ready to open their 2025 campaign next week as they start a 10-game stint at the Spring Games in Florida. The team's first game is slated for Sunday, March 9th with a 9 AM start against Carthage College out of Wisconsin.
They will then return home for a mix of non-conference and Conference of New England games, hoping to return to CNE post-season play.
The Bison finished last season with a 24-20 record, including 10-6 in conference play, earning them a berth in the conference tournament. They beat Suffolk and Endicott and fell to Western New England and Roger Williams in the double-elimination event.
2025 Leadership Group
Head Coach Caitlin Hitchcock returns for her third season at the helm of the Bison dugout. Last season, she guided the Bison to one of their best seasons in program history, and their winningest since 2008. Hitchcock is joined by assistants Sam Witmer, Colleen Kuplast-Bousquet, and Alyssa Mabardy.
The Bison have four athletes tasked with captaincy this season: seniors Erin Gour from Westfield, Massachusetts, Chloe Steiniger from Litchfield, New Hampshire, and juniors Allie Silliman, a native of Rensselaer, New York and Chelsea Indyk of East Hampton, Massachuetts.
Scouting the 2025 Season
Last season, Nichols saw three players named to All-Conference teams, first baseman Allie Silliman landing on the All-CCC Second Team, and Chelsea Indyk (P) and Chloe Steiniger (INF) on the All-CCC Third Team. With all three of those athletes poised for a return this season, the Bison are hopeful for another record-breaking year as last season they broke their record for single-season doubles (64) and putouts (893) in 2024 and tied their record for single-season shutouts (6).
Joining that list of players to watch is senior captain
Erin Gour, who led the Bison in a multitude of categories last season, including batting average (.321), slugging percentage (.573), runs scored (26), doubles (14), home runs (5), and total bases (75). Her leadership will be relied on as the Bison open their season in the sunshine state.
Their Florida stint will include first-time-ever matchups with Gettysburg College from Pennsylvania, Husson University from Maine, The College of St. Scholastica from Minnesota, and Ohio Northern University from Ohio.
The Bison have four freshmen joining the squad this season looking to make their impact felt. They are infielder Samantha Lombardi of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, utility player Alyssa Pericello from Wethersfield, Connecticut, outfielder Sarah Dupre of Norwood, Massachusetts, and pitcher and Vermont Softball Gatorade Player of the Year Molly Medor from Highgate, Vermont.
The team opens conference play on Saturday, March 29
th as the host Western New England for a doubleheader in Dudley. With Nichols coming in at six on the CNE coaches pre-season poll, they will have key matchups as they head to number one selected Endicott on 4/19, and close out conference play with a double header against Roger Williams on 4/17 in Dudley.
For more coverage of the 2025 Nichols College Softball Team, follow @NCBISON on Instagram and X, and turn into live coverage at nicholsathletics.com.
