HAMILTON – Colgate capped off a strong offensive weekend with a 10-2 victory over Lehigh to clinch the series after dropping a 13-5 decision in the opening game of Sunday's twinbill at Eaton Street Field.
 
The Raiders as a team batted .412 this weekend with 42 hits, including 11 doubles and four home runs, to go with 30 runs scored and 25 RBIs. Rachel Carney was a perfect 4-for-4 on Sunday, while Virginia Irby, Kara Fusco, Mia Guevarra, and Morgan Farrah recorded three hits apiece.
 
Game 1: Lehigh 13, Colgate 5
Colgate was sitting pretty with a 5-4 lead heading into the seventh, but Lehigh rallied for nine runs to take the opening game of the doubleheader 13-5. An RBI single from Jaelynn Chesson tied the game at 5-5, and then nine straight Mountain Hawks reached base safely to put it out of reach.
 
The Raiders did most of their damage in the bottom of the third when back-to-back RBI singles from Carney and Virginia Irby opened the scoring. Farrah belted a two-run double down the left field line to bring two runs home and push the margin to 4-0.
 
Bailey Misken was solid in four innings in the circle. She scattered four hits over four innings, allowing one earned run with a pair of strikeouts, but did not factor in the decision.
 
Carney added another RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 5-1, but Lehigh went on to score 12 unanswered runs over the final three innings to take the opening game 13-5.
 
Game 2: Colgate 10, Lehigh 2 (5 Inn.)
For the second straight day Colgate jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first of Game 2. Back-to-back RBI doubles from Taylor Ludwick and Fusco got the Raiders on the board and Guevarra drove in a run to give the Raiders plenty of breathing room for starting pitcher Bella Crow.
 
Crow held up her end of the bargain, firing five innings while allowing two earned runs with a pair of strikeouts. Lehigh cut the deficit to 4-2 in the top of the second on a two-run single from Melissa Fedorka, but that was Crow's only blemish in her fourth win of the season.
 
The Raiders put the game away with six runs on the strength of four hits in the home half of the fourth. RBI doubles from Irby and Farrah sparked the surge before Fusco hammered a three-run laser beam over the wall in dead center field that suddenly had the Raiders in front 10-2.
 
Crow tossed a 1-2-3 seventh to cap off her complete game and Colgate claimed the series with a five-inning triumph.
 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Marissa Lamison-Myers
 
On the games:
"I am extremely proud of the way our offense battled this weekend against a tough pitching Lehigh team. Even though we dropped the first game today, we didn't let that take our momentum away offensively. The ability to hit a gap or a home run is a threat one through seven in our lineup. We try to capitalize on every opportunity we're able to get, but timely hitting and solid defense can take you a long way in a four-game series as we saw this weekend."
 
NOTES
• This marks the first time Colgate has ever won a four-game series over Lehigh. The Raiders took two out of three in a scheduled four-game series in 2011, but the fourth game was postponed.
• Virginia Irby scored five runs this weekend to move into sixth place in career runs (110).
• Irby is also 14th all-time in hits (146), ninth in doubles (31) and 17th in home runs (10).
• Kara Fusco and Rachel Carney both batted .556 (5-for-9) this weekend.
• Morgan Farrah slashed .500 (7-for-14) with two doubles, two homers and six RBIs.  
 
UP NEXT
Up next is a home-and-home series against Binghamton next weekend. Colgate visits the Bearcats for a doubleheader on Saturday before hosting a twinbill on Sunday. Game times are set for noon and 2 p.m.