TAMPA, Fla. – Colgate Softball celebrated Colgate Day with a two-game sweep of Hartford and UMass. Lowell on Friday at the USF Tournament.
The Raiders pulled their record to .500 on the season after shutting out the Hawks 4-0 in the first game before taking an exciting 11-7 extra innings victory over the Riverhawks in the nightcap.
Colgate saw sophomore
Brigit Ieuter pitch a one, two, three opening inning to get the Raiders started during game one.
Katie Bushee kicked off the bottom half of the inning with a triple to right field.
Mariel Schlaefer then hit into a fielder's choice and handed the Hawks their first out of the game as they tagged Bushee out at home. A
Marisa Dowling walk shifted the runners to first and second base, before the two baserunners pulled off a double steal to get them into scoring position.
On the ensuing play, sophomore
Tara Grennan stepped up singling to left field to bring in the Raiders' first run of the day. The sophomore then stole second, which allowed for Dowling to steal home, making it a 2-0 Raiders edge. Grennan advanced to third on that play as well after Hartford tried to catch Dowling at home. During the next at bat,
Alessandra Moore grounded out to the pitcher, bringing in the final Raider run of the inning.
Colgate pushed its lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth after Schlaefer hit one over the left center fence for her first home run of the year.
Ieuter pitched a complete game, allowing just three hits, while fanning one batter. Her overall record shifts to 2-1 on the year.
In the nightcap, Colgate broke a scoreless deadlock with a solid third inning grabbing four runs. UMass. Lowell answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning but another Raiders run in the top of the fourth handed them a 5-1 lead.
The Riverhawks rallied in the bottom of the sixth to knot the score at 5-all, making for an exciting seventh inning.
With two outs, rookie
Holly Geranen chose a great time to drill her first career homer over the left field fence as her hit handed the Raiders back their advantage at 6-5.
Unfortunately the Riverhawks would not go down that easily as they again tied the score in the bottom half to send the contest into extra innings.
Colgate would then explode for five big runs in the top of the eighth to create a little gap between the teams.
Despite allowing one final run in the bottom half of the inning, Colgate held on to sweep the day's games.
Megan Carnase earned the win during game two after coming in for relief. She pitched two innings and gave up just two runs, both unearned. Rookie
Kira Griswold pitched six solid innings allowing four hits and five runs. She manage to grab three strikeouts as well, shifting her season total to a team-high 13.
The Raiders are back in action Saturday during day two of the USF Tournament. Colgate will meet up with Central Connecticut State at 1:45 p.m. before facing off with Seton Hall at 6:30 p.m.
Bottom Line• Colgate 4, Hartford 0
• Colgate 11, UMass. Lowell 7 – 8 innings
Won-Lost Records• Colgate improves to 3-3 on the year
• Hartford dips to 1-11
• UMass. Lowell shifts to 8-9
Key Raider Info• Six Raiders touched home plate on Friday, including four who accounted for three runs each.
• Geranen tallied her first career homer in game two, while Schlaefer added to her career longball total in game one.
• The top performers on the day were Dowling, Bushee and Grennan. Dowling finished going 4-for-6 with three runs, three RBIs and two walks. Bushee went 4-for-7 with three runs and a walk, while Grennan grabbed three hits, three runs, and three RBIs during her seven at bats.
• Schlaefer, Moore, Geranan,
Gillian Murray and
Alicia Daly all recorded at least one hit for the Raiders on the day as well.
• Both Ieuter and Carnase posted wins in the circle for Colgate, while Griswold earned her third career start.
Facts & Figures• The Raiders notched 15 total runs on the day to go along with their 18 hits.
• On the other hand Colgate allowed just seven runs and seven hits.
• Lucky No. 13 of the Raiders final runs total were earned during the two games.
Straight From The Source•
Colgate head coach Melissa Finley: (on her overall thoughts from the opening two games of the tournament) "We came out strong in the first inning against Hartford and set the tone for the day. The team kept a consistent intensity throughout the day and it was huge for us to be able to get the extra inning victory against UMass. Lowell."
"We are seeing the ball well right now and had some very timely hits by many different people today. It was great to see so many of our players contribute and
Holly Geranen picked a great time to hit her first collegiate home run."
Up Next• The Raiders next take the dirt on Saturday during the second day of the USF Tournament. Colgate will face Central Connecticut State and Seton Hall at 1:45 and 6:30 p.m., respectively.
• Live stats available at the start of both games.
