Softball Opens NESCAC Play 3-1
Twelve extra-base hits guided Colby to a sweep of Trinity on Friday, and Saturday's split with Hamilton showcased two even squads in a pair of one-run games.
Trinity and Colby combined for six longballs in the opener and with the Bantams holding the edge in hits, the difference came down to the circle. KC DeSarno opened strong for the Mules and Sophia Meade held off a late Trinity threat for her second win on the year. In the nightcap, the Mules broke it open with 11 runs in the third and five more in the fourth to sweep the Bantams in five innings. Colby batters combined for a program record seven doubles, led by Ella Wilcox with two.
The Mules kept pounding the ball Saturday against Hamilton, collecting nine hits in the opener and 16 in the nightcap. Caroline DeSimone and Emma Burnham led the way with four hits apiece, and Victoria Ramirez played assignment softball with a sac fly in game 1 that forced extra innings, and another in game 2 that proved to be the game winner.
Carissa Cassidy continued to be a tough out, reaching base 12 times across the four games with five hits and seven walks. She scored eight times and currently ranks second in the NESCAC with a .514 batting average.
With this week's early games already postponed due to impending weather, Colby will set their sights on welcoming the Cardinals of Wesleyan University on Saturday.
Colby Gives #1 Middlebury Toughest Test Yet, Falls 12-11
After a midweek route of Southern Maine 20-3, the Mules prepared for their biggest matchup to date. Middlebury not only claims the top spot in the NESCAC standings, but the Panthers have held the #1 spot in the IWLCA rankings since the poll began in preseason.
In Saturday's showdown, the Mules and Panthers battled neck in neck in an intense matchup. Neither team could pull ahead during the full 60 minutes of play with the biggest lead by either team being only two goals. It all came down to the final quarter where Middlebury was able to score three straight to open up a two goal lead with four minutes remaining. Julia Jardina narrowed the gap to a single goal at the 3:09 mark with her fourth goal of the contest on a free position attempt. After winning the next draw and totaling three shots on the ensuing possession the Middlebury defense held firm. The Panthers held on for the one goal victory to remain undefeated since the 2022 season. Jillian Kane had a great performance in net setting a new career-high with 11 saves.
Colby's play against the Panthers caught the eyes of many, and despite suffering the loss, the Mules moved up the charts to their new ranking of #3 in the IWLCA poll. Colby will travel to Bowdoin Wednesday before returning home to take on Trinity on Saturday.
Baseball Tops Trinity in Extras
Earning a victory over Plymouth State and taking one of three against the Bantams, Colby's Baseball team saved its best for last with a 10-inning thriller in the series finale in Hartford.
After two tightly contested battles with Trinity on Friday (6-5 and 5-1 setbacks), the Mules jumped out to an early lead Saturday with six runs in the first three innings. Trinity clawed their way back plating runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth, and the two foes found themselves deadlocked heading into the seventh. Sam Lowenstein came on in relief and had the best performance of his young career. The first-year threw four innings without allowing a hit or a walk, setting the table for an RBI single by Myles Gythfeldt in the 10th inning to seal the game.
Tony Silva reached base in all six plate appearances in the finale, and Gythfeldt's eight hits on the week vaulted him to the top of the NESCAC leaderboard with a .479 batting average. Clint Flippo returned to the lineup after a four-game absence to collect three hits against Plymouth State and three more across the series with Trinity. The senior is currently second in the NESCAC batting .429.
The Baseball team will face USM Wednesday in Gorham before entering a home-and-home series with Bates College. The solo game will be played Friday in Waterville with the double header slated for Saturday in Lewiston.
Men Sweep WPI and Hamilton to Kickoff Spring Racing Season
With a morning full of overcast skies, temperatures in the low 40s and a light cross headwind, the Men's and Women's Crew teams competed on Lake Quinsigamond taking on hosts WPI alongside Wesleyan, Smith and Hamilton. The men raced for the Class of 2003 Cup while the women battled for the Jennifer McLaughlin Cup.
The highlight of the day was all four men's crews (V8, 2V8, 3V8 and V4) sweeping both the Engineers and Continentals with solid overall improvements for both the men's and women's results from last season. The Men's Varsity Eight finished with a time of 6:20.21 good for second place. They were slightly outpaced by the Cardinals about four seconds ahead.
"This was a very good result against the defending DIII National Champions, " stated Head Coach Stew Stokes. "They did a great job steadily moving away from WPI and Hamilton, while staying very close to the leader and having a strong second half of the race. Overall, there's speed still to gain which is exciting."
On the women's side of competition, the young V8 crew finished with a time of 7:38.11 about 10 seconds behind Smith to take fourth place.
Colby Crew will be back in action in Malden, Mass. next Saturday, April 12th facing Coast Guard Academy.
Men's Lacrosse Takes Care of Maine Maritime, Falls to #14 Middlebury
Colby's Men's Lacrosse team remained perfect in non-conference play with a 16-13 win over Maine Maritime on Tuesday. In their NESCAC matchup at #14 Middlebury, the hosts jumped out to a five-goal lead at the break and maintained stride in the second half for a 15-7 victory.
The Mules built an early lead against the Mariners following a strong first half, including two goals apiece from Luke Lombardo and Matt Stein. Despite a late surge from Maine Maritime including a five goal run in the final quarter, Colby’s early lead helped them secure the victory in the end. The Mules' offensive depth proved key as eight different players scored their first goals of the season. Matthew Torrey recorded his first start in net for Colby registering 11 saves. Kyle Skop was great at the faceoff dot going 10 of 12 and recording seven ground balls.
On Saturday in Middlebury, Colby fought hard but ultimately fell to the Panthers 15-7. Bennett Goller scored the game's opening goal before the Panthers ended the quarter scoring four straight and remained in the lead the rest of the way. Goller finished with a pair of goals and an assist followed by Gavin Rothenberg with two goals. Will Heisler finished with 14 saves in the contest.
Men's Lacrosse will host Bowdoin Wednesday night before returning to the road Saturday at Trinity.
Men's Tennis Battles Ephs, Panthers
After an undefeated 3-0 spring break trip, the Mules looked to continue the momentum into conference play hosting Williams and Middlebury over the weekend.
In their first matchup on the Alfond-Wales Tennis Courts this spring, the pairing of Jake Cohen and Jason Daly in the one spot took a 6-4 victory, but the Ephs took the other two wins for the doubles point. Williams would go on to win five of the six singles matchups with Daly grabbing the lone singles victory 4-6, 6-3, 1-0(8) to improve his record to 9-0 in singles this spring.
The following day, the Mules faced a tough Middlebury squad, falling to the Panthers 5-2. The two points came from Marco Ziets-Segura winning in the four spot and Josh Kaplan in the six spot.
Men’s Tennis will take their 6-5 record on the road next weekend going up against Amherst and Hamilton.
Women's Tennis Takes on #14 Babson, #6 Middlebury
Following their California spring break trip, the Mules remained on the road heading to Babson Park, Mass. and Middlebury, Vt. over the weekend.
On Saturday, despite the Beavers taking the opening doubles point, the pairing of Amelie Gal and Ella Novion won in the three spot 6-4 hoping to provide the Mules a spark heading into singles play. Babson did not give an inch of space in singles, however, winning all six matchups. Novion had a strong showing in the four spot winning the first set but fell to her opponent 2-6, 6-4, 1-0(2).
Colby looked to bounce back against the Panthers on Sunday, but the 6th-ranked Middlebury squad played at the height of their game. Jade Finestone and Michaela Landry in the two doubles spot had a close battle falling just short 4-6.
The 5-6 Mules will continue with conference play next weekend hosting Amherst and Hamilton.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Bonnie Baker Photography, Steve Cheney P'25, Stephen R. Clouthier, Traigh DeMasi '28, Jamie Fiedorek '25, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Peter Li '26, Michael Maher, Reese Robinson '27, Junan Shimizu '25, Daryn Slover P'28, Marty Thornton Photos, Ansley White '26, and the Colby Communications team.