ITHACA, N.Y. – Bella Crow pitched a complete-game shutout and Colgate bounced back to defeat Cornell 6-0 in the nightcap after falling to the Big Red 10-7 in the opener of Tuesday's doubleheader at Niemand-Robison Softball Field.
With the split, Colgate moved to 17-18 on the season. Cornell is now 6-25 on the year.
Cornell 10, Colgate 7
Both teams went down scoreless in the first before Cornell did most of its damage in an eight-run bottom half of the second.
A hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded opened the scoring and started a stretch of seven straight batters reaching base safely as the Big Red jumped out to an 8-0 lead.
Jessica Hay came into pitch in relief and maintained the deficit until Colgate's bats broke out for three runs in the fourth.
Morgan Farrah smashed a leadoff home run over the wall in left center to jolt the Raider bats.
Jordan Miller followed with an RBI double down the left field line to score
Virginia Irby from first.
Mia Guevarra later scored Miller on a groundout up the middle to cut the deficit down to 8-3.
Cornell was comfortably in front 10-3 by the seventh, but the Raiders did not go away easily. Colgate in its last at-bats scored four runs after Miller poked a two-out RBI single up the middle.
The Raiders fought all the way back to get the tying run in the on-deck circle, but Cornell pitcher Katie Lew escaped the jam to hold on for the 10-7 victory.
Colgate 6, Cornell 0
Crow tossed her second shutout of the season in the nightcap, striking out six and scattering five hits with one walk over seven innings.
Colgate used a two-out rally in the second to take the lead for good. Guevarra worked a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch before
Cayman Coughlin brought the game's first run home on a single up the middle.
Irby scored on a wild pitch in the third inning and drove in another run on a groundout in the fifth. Miller extended Colgate's lead to 4-0 with a single to center, scoring Farrah from third.
Crow retired 11 straight batters with perfect third, fourth, and fifth innings before the Raiders added insurance runs down the stretch.
Farrah cranked an RBI ground-rule double in the sixth and Coughlin brought home
Nicole Rounsavill on an RBI groundout in the seventh to cap the scoring.
Crow finished her complete-game gem with two strikeouts in a scoreless home half of the seventh as Colgate went on to take Game 2 and salvage the doubleheader split, 6-0.
FROM THE SOURCE
• Colgate head coach
Marissa Lamison-Myers:
"We had a rough start today in game 1 but battled until the end. I was especially happy with the way we dug in for game 2. Bella was huge again on the mound for us and our offense came alive. Now we set our sights on Boston."
KEY RAIDER NOTES
• Colgate now has its most wins since 2015, when the Raiders finished with 17 for the season.
• Six Raiders finished with a hit in Game 1 of the doubleheader.
• Miller paced Colgate in Game 1 with two hits, two RBI, and a run scored.
• Farrah reached base safely four times in Game 2, finishing 2-for-2 with two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored.
• Coughlin posted two RBI in the nightcap as six Raiders finished with a hit in the win.
• Crow improved to 9-7 on the season and lowered her ERA to 3.76 in the circle with the win.
• Colgate has moved up to fourth nationally in doubles per game (1.88).
UP NEXT
• Colgate heads to Boston University this weekend for a pivotal Patriot League three-game set.
• The Raiders and Terriers open the series with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon.
