JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Colgate softball dropped both ends of its season-opening doubleheader to South Dakota State and North Florida on Friday afternoon in the UNF Osprey/Dolphin Invitational.
 
Colgate fell to 0-2 with the losses. South Dakota State improved to 4-2, while North Florida moved to 1-3 with the win.
 
Game 1: South Dakota State 9, Colgate 7
 
South Dakota State scored in each of the first three innings and jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a two-RBI single by Caelyn Christiancy in the top of the third. 
 
The Colgate bats came alive in the home half of the third, sending eight batters to the plate and scoring four runs on the strength of six hits to get back within one run. 
 
Christiana Cottrell started things up with a one-out double to right center and she scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Meghan Romero. The Raiders kept the pedal down with four straight two-out hits. 
 
Rebecca Johnson beat out an infield single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a base hit to left by Morgan Farrah. Virginia Irby followed suit with a single through the right side and Lauren La Terra belted an RBI double to right center. Jordan Miller capped the inning with an RBI single to left to make it 5-4. Cayman Coughlin, who pinch-ran for La Terra, tried to score from second on the single but was tagged out at the plate. 
 
South Dakota State came back with a run in the top of the fourth and extended its lead to 9-4 in the sixth on a three-run home run by Lyndsey Crist.
 
After McKenna Saunders scored on an error to make it 9-5 in the home half of the sixth, Colgate continued its rally in the seventh. Romero led off with a double in the left-center gap and Farrah singled to put runners on the corners. Miller kept the Raiders alive with a two-out, two-run double to right field to bring the tying run to the plate, but the Jackrabbits escaped the jam with no further damage to hold on for the 9-7 victory. 

Jessica Hay was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits with two walks and a strikeout over two innings. Kaitlyn Borruso tossed the final five innings in her Raider debut, surrendering six runs on eight hits with a strikeout. 

Game 2: North Florida 7, Colgate 1
 
Colgate started strong in the nightcap and needed just seven pitches to score the game's first run. Romero was hit by a pitch before Farrah laced the first pitch she saw into left center for an RBI double.
 
The Raider lead did not last, however, as North Florida responded with two runs in the bottom of the first. Navia Penrod and Megan Woodson led the inning off with a single and a double, respectively, and both eventually came around to score to give the Ospreys a 2-1 lead.
 
Kayla Cruz settled in from there to toss three perfect innings for North Florida. The Ospreys added three runs in the second and two runs in the fourth to open a 7-1 lead.

Colgate's final hit came in the fifth inning when Baillie Jorth lined a two-out single up the middle. Saunders entered as a pinch-runner and reached scoring position on a throwing error, but North Florida's Sydney Matzko escaped the jam unscathed.

That proved to be the final threat for the Raiders. Matzko pitched three scoreless innings of relief in the 7-1 victory for the Ospreys. 

FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach Marissa Lamison-Myers:

"We took a lot of good things out of today even though the outcome wasn't what we wanted. We are hoping to build on that and come out ready to go tomorrow. Rebecca Johnson was a force in the lead off spot for us, so if we can continue putting pressure on defenses we should be able to score more runs."

KEY RAIDER NOTES
• Three first-years saw action for the Raiders in Farrah, Johnson, and Borruso.
• Nine different Raiders finished with a hit on the day.
• Farrah went 3-for-7 in two games at the plate with two RBI and a run scored.
• Johnson, Farrah, and Miller each finished with two hits in the opener.
• Miller finished with three RBI to lead Colgate offensively.
• Colgate cracked 14 hits and five doubles in the twinbill.

UP NEXT
• Colgate closes out its weekend trip with another doubleheader on Saturday.
• The Raiders take on South Dakota State at 2 p.m. in the opener and will face Jacksonville at 7 p.m. in the nightcap.