By Alli Dadouris ‘14

Last weekend the Leopards (11-41) faced the Army Black Knights for their final series of Patriot League games.

The first game of the series began with a quick run from Army (30-20). The Leopards evened the score in the third, when Brittany Paul ‘16 and Bryn Gornick ‘16 both reached on one-out singles. Melissa Robinson ‘14 hit a double, allowing Paul to make the run. The game remained tied, and went into extra innings. Army scored two runs in the tenth inning, winning the game 3-1.

The second game went scoreless for the first five innings before Army scored the only run of the game in the top of the sixth. The Leopards got on base in the seventh after Kristen Berger ‘15 reached on an error. A strike out ended the game before the Leopards could tie the game, ending the day with a 1-0 loss.

Sunday’s play began with two runs scored by Army, who then scored two more in the second. Army extended their lead to 5-0 in the third inning. In the bottom of the fourth, Leopards answered with three runs. Junior Amy Gebhardt’s two-run double allowed for Berger and Victoria Vergona ‘15 to score. Lafayette tied the game in the sixth inning when Gornick and Vergona scored on a single from Jordan Parsons ‘13. Army managed a two-run homerun in the seventh, clinching the 7-5 win.

Lafayette’s defense fell apart in the final game of the series. Army managed a two-run homerun in the first. In the fifth, Army scored another two runs. The Leopards responded when Berger got on base and was knocked home by a hit from Madeline Allen ‘13. Army managed a pair of two-run homeruns in the seventh. Lafayette’s Parsons and Berger both scored in the bottom of the seventh, but were unable to tie the game. The Leopards lost 8-3.

“It isn’t the way we wanted to finish our season,” Gebhardt said. “The team worked hard, and I am so proud to be a part of this team, no matter what our record is.”

Losing the series landed Lafayette in sixth place in Patriot League rankings, and boosted Army to second place. Lehigh, Army, Bucknell, and Colgate will all compete in the Patriot League Tournament, hosted by Lehigh.

For the last day of Patriot League play, the team honored seniors Parsons and Allen. Parsons’ two hits on Senior Day moved her into the top ten for career hits at Lafayette.

“Our seniors are great,” Vergona said. “We’re really going to miss them and their leadership next year.”