An impressive performance against Lafayette College on Sunday, April 6, broke a two-week losing streak and gave Colgate University softball (12-24) its first Patriot League series win of the season. After going 1-1 on Friday, April 4 (L, 2-3 and W, 7-5), the Raiders came back with a four-run second inning to clinch a 6-2 victory.
Junior Maya Servedio dominated the play. The pitcher from Yorktown, N.Y., scattered seven hits over seven innings, pitching three strike-outs with only two earned runs. Servedio’s stellar performance earned the team their sixth victory of the season. Other highlights included first-year infielder Mia Cascio’s home run — her third one this season — and senior infielder Alexis Romero’s two hits.
Despite a series of lackluster results, the team appears on track to salvage the remainder of their season. According to first-year infielder Analisa Raffaelli, who had two hits against Lafayette, this win was a turning point for the team.
“I think that first game we played really lit a fire under us; after the loss, we wanted to come out of the gate strong for the rest of the weekend, which we did. Our pitchers did very well all weekend, so we knew we needed to make the adjustments in the box to have their backs and take the series, and that’s what we did,” Rafaelli said.
The following weekend, the Raiders hosted Lehigh University for a three-game series at the Eaton Street Complex, with the opening game on Saturday, April 12, and a doubleheader on Sunday, April 13.
The Raiders faltered with a 5-6 loss on Saturday’s season opener but went on to split Sunday’s doubleheader with the Mountain Hawks. After losing the first game on Sunday 2-9, the Raiders responded with a 9-8 eight-inning victory to end the series. Cascio had an outstanding weekend again, delivering a walk-off two-run single to clinch the team’s win and cap her two-hit, three-RBI day.
With some important wins under their belt, senior catcher Quinn Livesay — who went 4-for-7 in Sunday’s games — and senior infielder Amanda DeSantis — who finished the day with three hits and a run — maintain a tenacious spirit and have high ambitions for the rest of the Spring 2025 campaign.
“What went well for the team last weekend and this weekend was just playing how we know to play,” Livesay said. “We have to stay confident and trust our ability to perform. When we play loose, we play better.”
As they prepare for their away match-up against Bucknell University on Saturday, April 19, the Raiders are looking to maintain high energy and team cohesion. According to Raffaelli, who had another great day on Sunday — scoring two home runs and leading the team with four RBIs — mindset is everything.
“I think our mindset is just to play confident and have fun. When we just relax and are our goofy selves, we tend to play so much looser, and good things end up happening,” Rafaelli said. We are honing in on controlling the things we can control and letting the game take over.”
Livesay feels that the first-years have done an excellent job maintaining a positive mindset.
“I am most proud of our first-years this season. They all have been thrown into extremely important roles on the team, and each of them is taking that on in such an amazing way,” Livesay said. “They also bring so much fun and energy, which is always helpful for keeping everyone in a good mood.”
With ample time to right the ship before playoffs, the group hopes to maintain this team chemistry and strengthen their technical prowess. Raffaelli identified some technical improvements they are focused on.
“Keeping our bats hot and staying consistent in the box will be really important for the rest of the year, so just working hard and making the adjustments pitch by pitch. Also, just giving ourselves an opportunity to win and playing hard for each other,” Raffaelli said.
Livesay underscored another key element to success.
“For our next round of Patriot League games, we are planning on staying up in energy and competing in all seven innings. Every inning is an opportunity to change the game. And every game matters,” Livesay said. “It doesn’t matter if we win or lose the first two games of a series — that third game is just as important for the Patriot League standings.”
Achieving these goals requires an unwavering commitment to the sport, and the players are proudly up to the challenge. Raffaelli expressed immense pride in the team’s camaraderie, which has carried them through wins and losses.
“We are a fairly young team, but our upperclassmen have really shown us what it means to be a part of this family. We hold each other accountable because we love each other, and we always have each other’s backs. So it’s been really cool to see all these relationships develop and how far we’ve come as a team,” Raffaelli said.
“As a team, there is no group I would rather stand beside,” DeSantis said. “We have been through ups and downs as a group and grown closer to each other than any team I have ever been a part of.”
Reflecting on the season thus far, Raffaelli recalled game three of their away series against Boston University on Friday, March 28, as a formative memory of the team’s cohesion.
“Being down seven going into the sixth inning and then losing by two shows how gritty we are as a team. The four runs we scored in the sixth were also all on two outs. But we played for each other and gave the team an opportunity, and I couldn’t be prouder of my teammates,” Raffaelli said.
With just six series remaining on their regular season schedule, Livesay reflected on her personal goals and shared her gratitude for the program.
“I am excited to just be playing. It feels as though I am just getting the hang of everything, so it is weird for it to now be my last year. However, I feel as though I have grown so much as a softball player and a person overall since my first year, so I just want to leave it all out on the field when I play,” Livesay said. “I also just want to have fun. The game is meant to be fun, so I have tried to separate myself from stats so that I can play free and just play for the love of the game.”
DeSantis elaborated on the senior mindset this spring.
“As a senior, I am just trying to be where my feet are. I am giving my final season everything I have because as seniors, this is what we have worked for our entire lives. As a team, there is no group I would rather stand beside. We have been through ups and downs as a group and grown closer to each other than any team I have ever been a part of,” DeSantis said.
After the Raiders take on Bucknell on Saturday, April 19, next on the agenda is a home game against Le Moyne College on Wednesday, April 23.
