MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – Colgate erased a six-run deficit to come back and defeat Columbia 9-8 in eight innings on Sunday afternoon in the Madeira Beach Invitational.
 
Nicole Rounsavill, Rebecca Johnson, and Sabrina Odierno each recorded two hits to lead the comeback. Rounsavill finished with three RBIs, Johnson scored three runs, and Odierno drove in two.
 
Columbia scored three runs in each of the first two innings to race out to an early 6-0 lead. Jess Hay, Kaitlyn Borruso, and Bailey Misken overcame the tough start in the circle to fire five straight scoreless frames and give the Raiders a chance at a comeback.
 
 Odierno got the Raiders on the board in the third with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring  Johnson from third after she tripled to right center. A pair of defensive miscues allowed Taylor Ludwick to cross home plate in the fourth and the Raiders chipped into the deficit to make it 6-2.
 
The Raiders kept the pedal down and added three more in the sixth. Three straight singles from Jordan Miller, Johnson, and  Odierno made it 6-3, and then Rounsavill came through in the clutch again with a two-run single down the right field line to cut the deficit to 6-5.
 
Down to their final at-bats, Colgate scratched a run across to tie the game. Morgan Farrah led off the top of the seventh with a double to right field. Miller brought her home two batters later with a sacrifice fly to deep left field and Colgate had come all the way back to draw even, 6-6.
 
Misken struck out the side in the seventh to set the stage for the Raiders in the eighth. Rounsavill hammered an RBI double to score Johnson from third and give Colgate its first lead of the game. A pair of defensive errors allowed two more runs to score and the Raiders jumped out to a 9-6 lead.
 
Columbia  did not go away easily, answering back with two runs in the home half of the eighth. But Misken buckled down and stranded two runners on base with a game-ending strikeout to complete the 9-8 comeback victory.  
 
Misken picked up the win, allowing two unearned runs in three innings of relief with five strikeouts to improve to 5-1 on the season.
 
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 9, Columbia 8
 
QUOTES
Colgate Head Coach Marissa Lamison-Myers
On capping off the weekend with a win:
"It was a complete team win today. We needed every single person to pull it out and I am proud of the way we fought back. We had a great effort from our pitching staff and our offense continued to grind when we were behind. We performed in the big moments and the team never quit."
 
GAME NOTES
• The win caps another 3-2 weekend for the Raiders, who are off to their best 10-game start since 2000.
• Rounsavill, coming off Patriot League Player of the Week honors, slashed .500 (9-for-18) this weekend with two home runs and eight RBIs.
• The senior extended her hitting streak to seven games with a 2-for-5 day at the plate Sunday.
• Odierno capped off her weekend batting .375 (6-for-16) with four RBIs.
• Colgate popped nine homers in five games this weekend, with two each by Rounsavill and Farrah.
• Miller moved into a tie for 10th all-time in career RBIs with 85 after driving in two this weekend.
• Misken posted two wins in the circle with a 2.93 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings.
 
UP NEXT                                                                                                                    
Colgate (5-4) is headed back to Florida next weekend for five games at Stetson. The Raiders open the invitational with a doubleheader Friday against Bethune-Cookman and Stetson at noon and 3 p.m.