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Box Score 2
DOVER, Del. – The Colgate softball team swept Brown 4-3 and host Delaware State 6-4 Sunday afternoon to close out the Delaware State Tournament on a three-game winning streak.
"We had two great team efforts today," head coach
Melissa Finley said. "It was nice to see our pitchers be backed up with some consistent defense. Offensively, we had a lot of contributors but
Tera Vaughn and
Alyssa Chaulklin had expecially great days. Overall it was a successfull weekend."
Colgate (5-15) had a big day from multiple Raiders. Vaighn led the way with four hits, one run and three RBIs in the doubleheader. Rookie
Mariel Schlaefer added three hits, two runs and two RBIs, while
Natalie Siedhof recorded three hits, two runs and an RBI.
Haley Fleming also had a good performance for Colgate, earning two hits, two runs and one RBI in the games.
Colgate led 1-0 after the first inning in the second game of the doubleheader. With one out, Fleming reached on a fielding error by the shortstop. She then advanced to second on a passed ball before Siedhof brought her home on a single to left field.
Delaware St. (4-17) tied the game at 1-all in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Nicole Gazzolla singled to third base and then stole second. The next batter, Rochelle Sablay, doubled to left center to plate Gazzolla.
The Raiders retook their lead at 3-1 in the top of the second. Chaulklin doubled to left field to get the Raiders in scoring position.
Alana Dyson then singled to the shortstop, scoring Chaulklin for the 2-1 advantage. Fleming, who was up next, doubled to left center to allow the quick-paced Dyson to score for the two-run lead. Dyson is now tied for fourth in Colgate history with 109 runs scored and she's third with 178 hits.
Delaware State would not go away, however, as the hosts answered in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. Jennifer Fischbach reached first on a fielder's choice. Jordan Stamps then singled to third base, advancing Fischbach to second.
The next batter, Sandy Hawthorne, singled to left field, moving the two base runners into scoring position. Ashley Bennett, who came in to pinch-hit for Kelsey Lewis, earned a walk that allowed Fischbach to scored the Hornets' first run of the inning. Later in the frame, Jessica Madrid singled down the left field line. Her hit scored Stamps and Hawthorne to give the Hornets the one-run advantage.
It wasn't until the top of the seventh that the Raiders would take back and secure the lead at 6-4. Siedhof started the inning singling to center field.
Marisa Dowling, who pinch-hit for
Emmie Dolfi, reached on a fielding error by the shortstop and then advanced to second on the throw. Siedhof moved from first to third on the play.
After a quick pitching change, Siedhof scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 4-apiece. With Dowling in scoring position following the wild pitch, it was a Schlaefer double that gave the Raiders the advantage at 5-4. Her hit allowed Dowling to cross home. Schlaefer moved from second to third on a wild pitch before Vaughn brought her home with a sacrifice fly to left field.
With one out in the bottom of the inning, the Hornets tried to rally following a Chloe Oro single to left center. But the Raiders did not let up, getting the final two outs to secure the win.
Rookie
Brigit Ieuter pitched seven innings, allowing six hits and four runs for the Raiders. Stephanie Sarris went 2.2 innings for the Hornets, giving up six hits and three runs. Rachel Meagley pitched 4.1 innings, allowing six hits and two runs as the Hornets reliever.
In the first game, it was again Colgate that jumped to the early lead.
Following one out, Fleming doubled to left center, getting the Raiders into scoring position in the top of the first. Siedhof then earned a walk to place two on base. Dolfi was hit by a pitch, advancing Fleming and Siedhof. Schlaefer was the player to tally the game's first RBI when she scored Fleming after a walk. Vaughn reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Siedhof for the Raiders' second run.
Colgate extended its advantage to 4-0 in the top of the third. Again with one out, Schalefer singled through the left side to jump-start the Raiders. She was able to steal second before Vaughn singled up the middle, scoring her for the three-run lead. The next batter, Dowling doubled to center field to allow Vaughn to reach home.
Brown (7-7) grabbed one run back in the bottom of the inning after Kelsey Williams scored on a wild pitch. She started out doubling to right center before advancing to third following a Jen Kries fly out.
The Bears cut the Raiders' advantage to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Stephanie Thompson led off with a triple down the right field line. Trista Chavez hit a sacrifice fly to center field, which allowed her to score.
Brown got the lead down to one after Thompson hit a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the sixth. Colgate was able to finish out the inning as well as the bottom half of the seventh to secure their second-straight win.
Senior pitcher
Courtney O'Connell picked up her 31st career win, allowing six hits and three runs during her seven innings of work.
Brown saw Jessica Cherness pitch 2.1 innings, giving up five hits and four runs. Lauren Kattchee came in for relief, allowing only three hits during her 4.2 innings.
Colgate returns home having won three in a row and five of their last seven games heading into conference play next weekend. The Raiders travel to West Point for two doubleheaders against Army. The first two games take place on Saturday, followed by the next two on Sunday. Both doubleheaders are set to begin at 1 p.m.