ng run in the Patriot League, completing a second straight weekend sweep by winning four games over Bucknell last weekend at the Eaton Street Field Complex in Hamilton. The Raiders then beat Siena twice last Wednesday to bring their win streak to 10 games.

Saturday afternoon was a wonderful day all-around, and the Raiders reflected the weather in their performance. Junior pitcher Jesse McCarrick continued her unbelievable form on the mound, tossing a two-hit shutout in the Raiders’ 7-0 win. The game started off with a scoreless first, and then Colgate got on the board in the second inning. With two outs, sophomore Nicole Siedhof smacked her third home run of the season, giving the Raiders a 1-0 lead. The third inning was marked by Calla Yee’s RBI triple, making the game 2-0. The contest then settled down until the sixth inning, when Colgate put the game beyond all doubt, scoring five runs. Senior Tiana Tyeskey knocked the first runs of the rally in, hitting a two-run homer, her second round-tripper of the year. First-year Stephanie Hartquist roped an RBI double, and classmate Jennifer Ortega rapped an RBI single. Siedhof scored on a wild pitch to complete the five-run inning. McCarrick shut down Bucknell in order in the seventh to seal the win for Colgate.

The second game was in marked contrast to the first. Colgate and Bucknell exploded on the offensive side of the ball by combining for 27 runs, but they struggled on defense, accruing an unlucky 13 errors. Colgate jumped out to a seemingly secure 8-0 lead after two innings, marked by Tyeskey’s two-run home run and Erin Gomez’s three-run homer in the bottom of the first. In the top of the third inning, however, the Bison exploded for eight runs on four hits and four errors, and Colgate still barely got out of the inning, as Bucknell left the bases loaded. Despite the turn of events, the Raiders responded for two runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 10-8 lead. Bucknell countered with two runs in the top half of the fifth to tie the game, and even took the lead in the sixth, popping home another three runs to make the game 13-10. Colgate, however, was simply not to be denied in this one, with Ortega knocking in a run on a single before Tyeskey hit her second homer of the game, a three-run shot, to give Colgate a 14-13 lead. McCarrick came on for Colgate in the top half of the seventh and finally stifled the Bucknell offense, and Colgate walked away with its second win of the day.

Sunday started off well for Colgate. Although Bucknell squeaked in a run in the first inning, Colgate responded with five, with RBIs from juniors Amanda Eccleston and Meg Mylan, Siedhof and Hartquist. From there on, Colgate essentially had the game wrapped up. After four and a half innings, Bucknell had closed the gap to 5-3, but another three-run homer by Gomez put Colgate ahead by five. Bucknell plated one more, but Colgate equaled it, and came home with a 9-4 win. McCarrick was again the pitcher of record, tossing a complete game and striking out seven.

Colgate closed out the four-game series with another dominating performance. Although the Raiders continued their streak of poor defensive showings in the first inning, allowing three runs, they soon overcame the deficit. On a chaotic play in the bottom of the first, Eccleston reached base on a fielding error by the second baseman. In her efforts to rush the throw, the ball went awry, allowing Yee to score from second, and Tyeskey to score all the way from first, closing the gap to 3-2 in Bucknell’s favor. An RBI single from Hartquist tied things up at three before Colgate started another of its characteristic offensive explosions, scoring five in the bottom of the third, thanks in part to an Ortega three-run homer, her fifth dinger of the year, to give Colgate an 8-3 lead. Bucknell was held scoreless for the next two innings, and Colgate took advantage with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run single from senior Ashley Rowe, to win the game thanks to the eight-run mercy rule, 11-3.

In addition to the sweep, Colgate’s weekend was highlighted by two awards, with Tyeskey being named the Patriot League Player of the Week, and Ortega earning her third Patriot League Rookie of the Week award. Tyesky leads the team with 26 RBI’s to go along with four home runs and a .341 batting average. Ortega leads all Raiders with five homers and is just behind Tyeskey with 21 RBI’s.

Editor’s Note: Coverage of Colgate’s 8-0 and 10-2 wins last night over Siena at home, which puts the Raiders’ record at 21-10, can be found on maroon-news.com this weekend, as they took place too late to be included in this week’s print issue.