The Lady Bison traveled to Queens, NY for the St. John's Invitational this past weekend in which they went 0-4. However, despite the end result, the Lady Bison showed improvement with each game that they played. They went up against Manhattan, St. John's, Fairleigh Dickinson , and Samford. 

    
    In the first game facing Manhattan, the Lady Bison were solid in phases of the game, holding a good Manhattan team scoreless for 3 innings. Senior Janessa Flynn pitched effectively, holding Manhattan to two runs, two walks, four hits, and striking out a game high six. Howard had six hits with two each coming from Junior Alex Flynn and junior Imani Ballard, but couldn't drive in any runs as Manhattan put up four more in the 6th inning. 

    Against St. John's, the Lady Bison were caught fishing early which resulted in early strikeouts but they countered with making consistent fielding plays. The 2nd inning was tough as St. John's poured in 5 runs off of poor infield communication. The Lady Bison hit well but were often pulling the ball. They forced the St. John's pitcher into some tough situations in the last few innings as Senior Jasmine Gammons was able to get a solo shot off, scoring the only run. 

    
    Facing a similar opponent in Fairleigh Dickinson, they were able to get good hits off the Lady Bison early in the game, scoring 4 runs in the 2nd inning. The Lady Bison hit the ball extremely well, amassing 7 hits that were scattered amongst the innings. The sole run for the Bison came in the bottom of the 6th inning when Junior Milan Pointdexter hit a single to right center which advanced redshirt freshman Tiyanna Stewart to third who then scored off an error by Fairleigh Dickinson's center fielder. 

    
    Howard played their best ball in the last game against Samford. Gammons belted a solo shot in the 2nd inning to give the Lady Bison an early lead as she set the tone for which her teammates followed suit. The Lady Bison forced the Samford pitcher into many long pitch counts which provided them with 2 runs and 4 walks in a row in the 5th inning. Janessa Flynn pitched her way out of some jams early in the 2nd & 3rd innings with help from her defense who made quite a few spectacular catches robbing Samford of several hits. A couple walks and crucial hits by Samford gave them the lead to keep in the 6th inning in which they scored eight runs. The Lady Bison made contact with the ball throughout the game, they were just not falling in the right directions. 

    
    Gammons had a strong performance in the tournament, proving to not only be a consistent hitter, but one who can hit with power as well. Gammons went 5-10 in the tournament with two solo home runs, two runs, and two runs batted in. She leads the team in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in. 

    
    Senior Al'Asia Davis continues to make her presence known against each opponent and although she went 3-11, Davis only struck out twice during the tournament. She continues to prove that she is a threat each time she steps in the batter's box. She leads the team in doubles and stolen bases. 

    
    The team seems to have found a consistent swing this past weekend and while it may not be reflected in the hits column, the team became much more aggressive and disciplined in their swinging. The balls may not have fallen in the Lady Bison favor, they made contact just as well as all the other teams in the tournament. 

    
    The Lady Bison will play a double header against the Lafayette Leopards on Tuesday with the first game starting at 5:00 p.m.