MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. - Colgate Softball grabbed a 5-2 win over Bowling Green in the early game of Saturday's doubleheader before falling to Siena 8-7 in eight innings in the nightcap at the Make it Happen tournament.
The long ball was key for the Raiders on Saturday. Nora Megenity homered twice, and Lily Haluska, Analisa Raffaelli, and Mia Cascio also went deep, anchoring a top-five of the Colgate order that accounted for all 12 of the team's hits on the day.
Kelcie McGraw pitched a gem for the second consecutive Saturday, getting her fourth complete game of the season against Bowling Green.
COACH LAMISON-MYERS' COMMENTS
"Even though we didn't pull out the extra inning win, I was happy with the way we came out today. Our offense came alive and our 1-4 hitters were a force today. With such a young group finding unconventional ways to win is hard. If we continue to perform like we did today I am confident the outcomes will turn in our favor."
Game 1 | Colgate 5, Bowling Green 2
Megenity opened the scoring right away, smacking a leadoff home run to left to put Colgate up 1-0. The round-tripper was Megenity's fourth of the season. Bowling Green would respond quickly in the bottom of the first. Two base hits set up an RBI groundout, but McGraw limited the damage, keeping the score tied after one.
After a quiet second, the Raiders exploded in the third. With Megenity and Marina Taveras on base, Haluska launched a three-run homer, her fourth of the season, to give Colgate a 4-1 advantage.
After facing traffic in the first inning, McGraw settled in, limiting Bowling Green to just three hits and picking up five punchouts over the first five innings.
In the sixth, Bowling Green began clawing their way back in the game, as Taylor Behrendt singled in her second run of the game to cut the Colgate lead to two, but McGraw settled in once again and sent the game to the seventh with the Raiders in front 4-2.
Colgate picked up a crucial insurance run in the top of the seventh when a Bowling Green error saw Analisa Rafaelli come around to score and make it 5-2. From there, McGraw continued her masterful pitching performance, setting down the Falcons in order and earning her fourth complete-game victory of the season.
Megenity thrived out of the leadoff spot, going 2-3 with her crucial leadoff home run. Taveras, continuing her fantastic first-year season, went 3-4 and scored a run. Finally, Haluska controlled the game on both ends, going 2-3 with three RBI from behind the plate. The trio provided all of the offense the Raiders needed in Game 1, registering all seven of Colgate's hits.
Game 2 | Siena 8, Colgate 7 (8)
Siena jumped in front first in Game 2. After a pair of runs came around on a Colgate error, a run-scoring single by Chloe Cummings gave the Saints a 3-0 lead.
Not to be outdone, the Raiders responded with an offensive outburst in the bottom of the frame. Megenity hit a solo shot, her second of the day to make it 3-1, before Haluska knocked in another with an RBI double and Cascio capped off the rally with a two-run home run to give Colgate a 4-3 third-inning lead.
The Raiders refused to let up from there, adding another three in the fourth when Rafaelli hit a three-run home run, the fifth of her season and the fifth of the day for Colgate, to make it 7-3.
Siena got one back in the fifth inning on a Cali DeLawder solo blast, but Mia Servedio, who had been knocked around in the early innings, kept the damage to one and held the Saints to four runs in five innings.
However, the sixth inning would see Siena level the score. Two unearned runs came around to score off of Servedio, and Alexa Acker couldn't hold the lead as DeLawder drove in her second run in as many innings to make it 7-7 in a back-and-forth affair.
Neither team scored in the seventh, sending the Raiders to their second extra inning game of the season. With Acker on the mound, a run-scoring fielder's choice gave Siena a one-run lead. Colgate couldn't respond in the bottom of the inning, falling 8-7 to the Saints in a heartbreaker.
Five Raiders collected a hit apiece in the nightcap, including Megenity, who hit her fifth home run of the year, Rafaelli, who drove in three on her deep fly, and Cascio, who added two of her own.
UP NEXT
The Raiders (6-12) wrap up their weekend with a matchup on Sunday against UIC. First pitch is set for 9 a.m.
