HAMILTON – Colgate's bats came alive in the nightcap and the Raiders bounced back from a 3-1 opening loss to knock off Army 8-2 in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader at Eaton Street Field.
Morgan Farrah was the spark in Colgate's comeback win, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead with a go-ahead grand slam as part of her two-hit afternoon.
Steph Jacoby and
Taylor Ludwick paced the Raiders with four hits apiece in the doubleheader.
Bella Crow picked up the win in the circle with a complete-game effort. She scattered five hits and two runs (one earned) with six strikeouts over seven innings to improve to 5-4 on the season.
Game 1: Army 3, Colgate 1
The opening game of Saturday's doubleheader was a pitchers' duel from the onset. A two-run homer in the top of the first was the only support Army needed behind a complete-game victory from Jolie Duong.
Bailey Misken worked in and out of trouble, shouldering the loss in the circle after yielding 12 hits and three earned runs over seven innings. She struck out two and walked one in the 110-pitch outing.
Colgate (10-12, 8-8 PL) cracked the scoreboard with a run in the home half of the fourth. Back-to-back singles from Jacoby and Ludwick led to an RBI single to left-center for
Mia Guevarra to trim the deficit to 2-1.
Virginia Irby singled in the fifth and Jacoby was on base again in the sixth, but neither reached scoring position. Army added a run in the top of the sixth and held on for the 3-1 opening triumph.
Game 2: Colgate 8, Army 2
Saturday's nightcap was more of the same with both starting pitchers controlling the pace. Colgate's first hit came in the bottom of the fourth, but Crow matched Army's Alicyn Grete pitch for pitch through four scoreless frames.
The Black Knights (8-11, 4-6 PL) were the first to strike with two runs in the top of the fifth. Angelina Bebek singled up the middle to score Maddie Wilkes before a defensive miscue allowed the visitors to extend their lead to 2-0. Crow limited the damage with an inning-ending groundout and Colgate responded in a big way.
Kara Fusco stroked a leadoff double to left field and
Rachel Carney followed up with a single. After Irby worked a two-out walk to load the bases, Farrah brought everybody home with a rocket to center field. She took an 0-2 pitch and crushed it over the wall to give the Raiders their first lead of the day 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth.
Jacoby and Ludwick restarted the two-out rally with back-to-back singles to center field.
Adrienne Nardone joined in with a three-run homer just inside the foul pole down the left field line and the Raiders were suddenly in front 7-2.
Ludwick continued her hot hitting with an RBI double to right field in the bottom of the sixth. Crow capped off her complete game with a perfect seventh and Colgate bounced back to take the second game of the series 8-2.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Marissa Lamison-Myers
On the games:
"I am really proud of the way we bounced back in Game 2. We stayed patient at the plate and capitalized when given the opportunity. Bella [Crow] was the reason as to why we were able to storm back. She kept the Army hitters at bay long enough for our offense to truly heat up."
NOTES
•
Bella Crow's six strikeouts moved her into 10th place all-time with 188 career Ks.
•
Morgan Farrah's grand slam was her league-leading sixth home run of the season.
•
Steph Jacoby with four hits upped her season batting average to a team-best .397 clip.
•
Adrienne Nardone's Game 2 home run was her third of the campaign.
• The Raiders as a team are batting .291, good for third-best in the Patriot League.
UP NEXT
Colgate and Army close out their home-and-home series with a doubleheader on Monday in West Point. First pitch is slated for noon.
