ITHACA, N.Y. – Colgate trailed Cornell heading into the final inning in both games of a Tuesday doubleheader, but the Raiders put together a pair of comebacks to secure a 7-6 win and 4-4 tie in the non-league twinbill.
The Big Red held a 6-5 lead heading into the seventh inning of the opener, but sophomore
Madison Aston came up with her first RBI as a Raider to help Colgate to the 7-6 victory. In the nightcap, which was called due to darkness after six innings, sophomore
Pami White and junior
Holly Geranen provided the late-game heroics as the two helped Colgate rally from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game at 4-4.
Geranen finished the day 3-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored to lead the Raider bats. First-year
Brittany Bendel earned the win in the circle in the opener, while classmate
Jessica Hay fired a scoreless final 2.2 innings of the nightcap to help Colgate to the tie.
The Raiders struck first in the opener as senior
Katie Bushee worked a leadoff walk before stealing second. Geranen came through with a two-out single up the middle to score Bushee and give the Raiders a 1-0 lead through one.
Senior starting pitcher
Gillian Murray kept the Big Red scoreless through the first two frames until Cornell used three hits and three Colgate errors to pull ahead 3-1 through three.
The Raiders answered in the top of the fifth as Colgate used five hits and one Cornell error to plate four runs and pull ahead 5-3. Sophomore
Lauren La Terra got the scoring started as she took the 10th pitch of her at-bat and roped a two-run double to right. First-years
Jordan Miller and
Sabrina Odierno followed with RBI knocks to help Colgate rally for the 5-3 advantage.
A solo homerun from Bridgette Rooney got a run back for the Big Red in the bottom of the fifth. Cornell then used a one-run double and RBI fielder's choice to tack on two runs in the sixth and reclaim the lead at 6-5.
Miller laced a single up the middle to open the top of the seventh before first-year
Virginia Irby knocked an infield hit and stole second. With runners on second and third, sophomore
Baillie Jorth recorded an RBI groundout to knot the score at 6-6. Aston then roped a single up the middle to score Irby and give Colgate a 7-6 lead.
The Big Red loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Bendel got two groundouts to end the threat and help Colgate secure the 7-6 victory.
After two and a half scoreless innings in the nightcap, Cornell laced a trio of two-out hits to put two runs on the board and take a 2-0 lead through three frames. The Big Red then doubled their lead in the fourth to put Colgate in a 4-0 hole.
The Raiders answered in the fifth a Geranen drew a leadoff walk and first-year
Nicole Rounsavill followed with a double to left. A batter later, sophomore
Pami White knocked a two-run double off the left field fence to pull Colgate within 4-2.
After Hay shut down the Big Red bats in the bottom of the fifth, Geranen's two-out, two-run home run allowed Colgate to tie the game at 4-4 in the top of the sixth.
Hay kept Cornell scoreless again in the sixth before darkness set in and the game was called official at 4-4 through six frames.
BOTTOM LINES
- Colgate 7, Cornell 6
- Colgate 4, Cornell 4 (6 innings)
WON-LOST RECORDS
- Colgate improves to 10-22-1 on the season.
- Cornell drops to 9-21-1 overall.
KEY RAIDER INFO
- Aston's game-winning RBI in the 7-6 game-one victory was her first RBI as a Raider. It marked her third hit while wearing the Maroon and White.
- Geranen's game-tying home run was her fourth dinger of the season and ninth career homer.
- Bendel picked up her third victory of the season in the opener. She kept the Big Red scoreless for the final 1.2 frames, allowing just two hits.
- Irby, La Terra, Miller, Rounsavill and Bushee all finished the day with two hits.
- Bushee and Geranen scored a team-best three runs apiece.
FACTS & FIGURES
- Colgate finished the day with an 11-10 hit advantage.
- Hay finished her 2.2 innings of relief work with just two hits surrendered.
- Murray finished with a line of six runs, three of which were earned, on 11 hits in the opener.
- The Raiders were 3-for-4 in stolen base attempts, as Irby, Rounsavill and Bushee all nabbed bags.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach
Melissa Finley
- "It was great to see us battle back in both games today. Everyone contributed to earn the win in the first game and it was great to see Maddie Aston come up big with the game-winning hit. In the second game, we stepped it up defensively and found a way to battle back and generate runs on less hits. Holly and Pami got the clutch hits that game and Jess did a great job to come in and hold them. Overall it was good to see some consistency and we know we have to keep working to continue to build on it."
UP NEXT
- The Raiders return home to Eaton Street Field for a key Patriot League series against Holy Cross.
- A Saturday doubleheader will begin at 12 p.m., while Sunday's single game is also slated for a noon start.