HAMILTON – Colgate racked up 16 hits and 13 runs in two wins over Albany, taking both ends of Saturday's doubleheader with 6-4 and 7-2 victories at Eaton Street Field.
 
Morgan Farrah and Virginia Irby led the Raiders offensively, combining for nine RBIs in the sweep. Starting pitchers Bailey Misken and Bella Crow both went the distance for two wins in the circle.
 
Game 1: Colgate 6, Albany 4
Neither team wasted time getting on the board in the opener. Albany scored twice in the top of the first before Colgate answered with three runs in the home half. Farrah got the Raiders going with a two-run homer to right center and Steph Jacoby followed with an RBI double to center.
 
Colgate added to its lead in the middle innings. Adrienne Nardone stroked a pinch-hit two-run double to right field, scoring Misken and Jacoby, to push the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the third. Rebecca Johnson led off the fourth with a single and scored two batters later on an RBI double by Mia Guevarra.
 
Albany climbed back with a two-run homer by Kelly Barkevich in the top of the seventh. After a double brought the tying run to the plate, Misken capped off her complete game with a groundout to pick up the 6-4 victory.
 
Misken scattered nine hits and struck out five in the complete game to earn her first win of the season.
 
Game 2: Colgate 7, Albany 2
The Raiders made their chances count in the nightcap, scoring four in the second and three in the sixth.
 
Irby and Farrah knocked in two each – all with two outs – in a big home half of the second. Irby drilled a bases-loaded two-run double to left field, scoring Johnson and Rachel Carney. One batter later, Farrah drove in two more with a single through the left side to extend Colgate's lead to 4-1.
 
Albany cut the lead to 4-2 with a run in the top of the fourth. Crow locked in and stranded a runner on third with an inning-ending strikeout keeping the Raiders in front by two.
 
Three insurance runs in the sixth put the game out of reach. Once again it was a two-out rally and once again it was Irby and Farrah providing the spark, with back-to-back RBI knocks extending the lead to 7-2.
 
Crow fired a perfect seventh and posted back-to-back strikeouts to complete the doubleheader sweep.
 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Marissa Lamison-Myers
 
On the game:
"I am proud of the way we battled with two outs. Virginia came up big twice for us and Morgan with a huge home run in Game 1. I couldn't be happier with the way we battled in the circle as well. Bailey and Bella giving us complete-game performances set the tone for our offense to do what they do best. We will be challenged again Sunday and I'm looking for that same fire from this group as they had today."
 
NOTES
• Seven of Colgate's 16 hits went for extra bases, including six doubles.
• Saturday's games were some of Colgate's earliest home contests on record.
• Colgate has played home games in March just three times since 2006 (2009, 2016, 2021).
• Those home openers in 2009 and 2016 were March 27 and March 30, respectively.
• Nine of Colgate's 13 runs on the day came with two outs, including all seven in Game 2.
• Morgan Farrah's homer was her first of the season and 15th of her career.
 
UP NEXT
Colgate and Albany wrap up their four-game series with a doubleheader on Sunday in the Capital District. First pitch is scheduled for 12 noon.