Orso's Perfect Game Caps the Week for Softball
The Mules swept the University of New England Wednesday and split with Husson University Saturday to push over .500 on the season, but the story of the week was sophomore Abby Orso pitching the first perfect game in Colby Softball history in their final game of the week.
On Wednesday, Colby proved too much for the Nor'easters, sweeping UNE 9-3 and 6-3. On Saturday, Colby battled the Husson Eagles in the first game, falling 2-5, but in the second game Orso and her team put on a show.
Orso pitched a complete game, retiring nine Eagles by way of strikeout, induced seven ground outs, and forced two fly outs. Not a single Husson batter reached base through six innings, and instead of going the full seven, Orso picked up the bat content on ending the game early.
With game length set at seven innings, a game can be stopped early due to a mercy rule. Colby entered the bottom of the 6th with a 6-0 lead, and instead of allowing the Eagles another shot at the plate, Amanda Cabral and Orso sent back to back shots over the fence for a 8-0 win by mercy rule.
Cabral collected seven hits in 14 at bats on the week, including three-hit games against UNE and Husson. Against UNE she homered, scored two runs, and had four RBI. In her three-hit game against Husson, she scored a run, drove in two more, and was part of the duo that forced the walk-off victory.
Colby is now 9-8 and opens NESCAC play this coming weekend against Bates.
Women's Lacrosse Makes it Seven Straight
After knocking off #1 Salisbury a week ago, the Mules leapt through the national rankings up to the 6th spot. Taking care of business, Colby ran its win streak to seven with wins against Conn. College (19-8) and Endicott (21-7).
Outscoring their opponents 40-15 on the week, sophomore Ally Franz led the Mules with five goals in each game. She now has 15 goals in the last four games and ranks second on the team in goals and third in points.
Gianna Bruno was a force Sunday against Endicott. She broke a 25-year school record by tallying nine assists, collecting four goals and 12 assists on the week. Bruno leads the NESCAC with 25 assists on the year.
After a last second, game-tying goal against Hamilton and an overtime game-winner against Salisbury a week ago, Annie Eddy was named the IWLCA National Offensive Player of the Week to go along with her NESCAC POW for the same games. Eddy is tied for third in the NESCAC with 28 goals.
Colby is 8-1, tied with Middlebury atop the conference standings.
Baseball Battles Tufts, Takes a Win from #18 Jumbos
Off to a storied start to begin the 2022 campaign, the Colby Baseball team took care of business against UMF Wednesday (11-4) before heading to Medford, Mass. for a showdown against #18 Tufts University. The Mules and the Jumbos entered their first NESCAC games with only one loss apiece on the season (10-1 record for Colby, 12-1 for Tufts).
Colby entered the Bay State with a spark on Friday, building a lead of 8-2 entering the eighth inning. Tufts responded with four runs in the bottom of the 8th, and then ran into a grand slam walk-off home run to pull ahead of Colby 10-9. Catcher Cole Palmeri (photo right) had two home runs in the contest, and starting pitcher Julian Erro baffled the Jumbos for the first five innings, allowing only two runs while striking out seven.
Colby and Tufts split the double header Saturday, with the Mules taking the first game 10-4 and the Jumbos securing the nightcap 8-4. These two behemoths will undoubtedly see each other down the stretch.
Marcus Forrester (above) leads the Mules with 19 runs scored out of the leadoff spot.
Colby is now 11-3 on the season.
Men's and Women's Tennis Shutout Hamilton, Fall to Amherst
After a successful spring break trip to California, the Mules returned home to begin the spring season on Mayflower Hill. Forced indoors due to cold temps, both the men and women took down the Continentals on Saturday without dropping a match.
Colby hosted the Amherst Mammoths on Sunday for the second NESCAC match of the weekend. The visitors showed why they are ranked #9 for women and #20 for men, defeating the host Mules 8-1 in both events.
Senior Katharine Dougherty won both days out of the 6-spot for the women. Despite several close matches on Sunday for the men, the duo of Joey Barrett and Jake Cohen in doubles were the only Mules to take a point on Sunday for Colby.
The Mules continue conference play next weekend, hosting Conn. College on Saturday and Trinity on Sunday.
Men's Lacrosse Remains Undefeated in Non-Conference Action
The Men's Lacrosse team competed twice on the road this week, first heading to Gorham, Maine to take on Saint Joseph's College on Tuesday, and then traveling to New London, Conn. to battle Conn. College on Saturday.
In Tuesday's matchup, the Mules built a 9-4 lead over the Monks at the break and extended it to 13-5 heading into the final 15 minutes. Colby eventually finished off St. Joe's 15-6 to remain undefeated in non-conference matches.
Facing the Camels on Saturday, Nick Hassan tallied four goals in the first three quarters to keep the Mules within reach of Conn., entering the fourth quarter with a two-goal deficit at 11-9. The Camels were able to pull away down the stretch to down Colby by a score of 16-9.
Colby is now 3-4 overall, ranked 9th in the NESCAC.
Women's Track Starts Outdoor Season Ranked Fifth in the Nation
After top performances at the Emory Invitational over spring break by the Women's Track & Field team, the Mules open the first USTFCCCA poll ranked 5th in the nation.
With his performance against some of the best Division I runners at the Raleigh Relays hosted by NC State, Tyler Morris is currently ranked #1 in the 10k in all of Division III, breaking the school record posted in 2007 by Dan Vassallo.
After easing into competition back in Vacationland, the Mules get back to work next weekend at the Polar Bear Invitational.
Crew Opens Spring Water in Worcester
The Men's and Women's boats took to the water for the Class of 2003 Cup (Men) and the WPI/Clark Invitational (Women) to kick off their spring season.
The Men's Varsity 8 placed fourth out of the five competing teams, finishing in line with their rankings against WPI, UMass, Wesleyan, and Hamilton.
The Women's Varsity 8 battled boats from WPI, Clark, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Smith, and Conn. College and took sixth place, second in the Petite Final.
The Mules head back to the Bay State to Lowell, Mass. next weekend to face off against boats from UMass Lowell, Coast Guard, and Mass. Maritime.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Tom Bartol, Joe Bianco P22, Cole Burkhart '24, Steve Cheney P25, Nancy Dauphinais '25, Paula Dauphinais '25, Gabe Dickens, Jamie Fiedorek '25, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Michael Garrett P23, Michael Maher, Anna Patten '23, Dustin Satloff '15, Ellie Sawyer P25, Aicha Thiero '24, Ben Wheeler