SOFTBALL GAME CENTRAL

THIS WEEK
Thurs., April 14 – at Binghamton (DH) 3:00 p.m. ET
Sat., April 16 – vs. Lehigh (DH) 12:00 p.m. ET
Sun., April 17 – vs. Lehigh (DH) 12:00 p.m. ET

The Colgate University softball team will travel to Binghamton for a double-header on Thursday before heading home for a weekend series against Patriot League foe Lehigh at Eaton Street Field.

Colgate (17-12, 8-0) is coming off a weekend sweep of Bucknell and is 8-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2007. Courtney O'Connell and Rachel LeCoq split pitching duties over the weekend, both collecting a pair of wins, while Stephanie Hartquist led the Raiders power surge. She hit .389 with three home runs and five RBIs during the four-game sweep of Bucknell. Hartquist went 3-for-6 on Saturday with a pair of homers and four driven in on Saturday against the Bison, and added her third home run of the weekend on Sunday.

LeCoq went 3-0 last week with a 0.78 ERA, and picked up two victories in League action against the Bison, while Tera Vaughn hit .368 for the week with two home runs and nine RBI. She drove in a pair in Colgate's 7-1 victory over Albany and followed up with seven RBI over the weekend, including two in the series-opener and five in Sunday's doubleheader.

As a team Colgate ranks first in the Patriot League in pitching with a 1.54 ERA and fifth in hitting with a .257 batting average. The Raiders also rank 13th in the nation in pitching, while O'Connell (18th) and LeCoq (28th) are both among the top-50 individually. Alana Dyson also has three triples on the season which is tied for 43rd in the nation, while Vaughn is the toughest player to strike out in the country. Vaughn has only struck out once in 97 at bats in 29 games this season.

SOFTBALL GAME CENTRAL
Raider fans can follow every Colgate game this season through Softball Game Central located on the Colgate Athletic Website. Softball Game Central keeps fans one click away from lives stats, and all the information on each opponent from who is leading the all-time series to who won the last game.

LeCOQ PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Rachel LeCoq was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Week following her performance in the weekend sweep of Bucknell. LeCoq has earned this honor three times this season.

LeCoq went 3-0 in three starts for the Raiders, posting a 0.78 ERA over 18 innings while allowing three runs (two earned) on 13 hits, walking seven and striking out 21. She hurled five innings of three-hit ball with five strikeouts in a 7-1 win over Albany on Wednesday, and then posted two victories over the weekend in the four-game sweep of defending champion Bucknell. She went the distance in a 3-2 victory on Saturday, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits while tying a career-high with 12 strikeouts. On Sunday, she hurled a complete-game six innings, shutting out the Bison on six hits with three walks and four punchouts in a 9-0 win. LeCoq (11-4) leads the League in victories (11), strikeouts (98), complete games (11) and opponents' batting average (.215) while sitting second with a 1.32 ERA.

SCOUTING BINGHAMTON
The Bearcats (13-11) enter Thursday after going 1-2 over the weekend against Albany in America East play. Binghamton is led by Jessica Phillips who is hitting .500 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI, while Stephanie DeLuca is hitting .328 with four homers and 10 RBI. In the circle Kate Price is 2-3 with a 1.58 ERA, while Kristin Emerling is 5-3 with a 2.44 ERA. The Raiders are facing Binghamton for the 47th time and lead the all-time series 33-13. The Bearcats won both meetings last season.

SCOUTING LEHIGH
The Mountain Hawks (19-15, 5-1) went 3-1 last week and started off the period with a doubleheader split at Princeton, before taking the first two from Patriot League foe Lafayette. Lehigh blanked the Leopards 1-0 and 10-0 in the first two matchups and will play Lafayette again on Thursday. The Mountain Hawks are led by Liz Lucas who is hitting .368 with six home runs and 31 RBI, while Alex Cueva is hitting .330 with 13 RBI. In the circle, Rebecca Bliss is 9-3 with a 2.86 ERA, while Ashley Quigley is 8-8 and leads the team with 48 strikeouts. Colgate and Lehigh have met 78 times with the Mountain Hawks leading the all-time series 55-23. Lehigh won three of the four meetings last season.