Colgate Women’s Softball was on a roll this past weekend, April 6 and 7. The team had a three-game sweep against Army, marking its first season sweep against the Black Knights since 2015. Colgate Softball proved that they are a force to be reckoned with and made quite the name for themselves in the Patriot League. On Saturday, the back-to-back games ended with the Raiders beating the Black Knights 10-9 in eight innings followed by another victory for the Raiders in the second game, finishing with a final score of 4-3. The third game on Sunday ended with a solid 4-2 triumph.

The Raiders’ first game against the Black Knights ended with a nail-biting finish. They had built up a significant lead against Army, 9-5, but one of the Black Knights, Ally Snelling, hit a three-run homer to close the gap to a 9-8 lead for the Raiders. For Army, infielder Taylor Livingston tied the game up with two-out singles to send the game into extra innings.

Junior pitcher Jessica Hay won the game for Colgate by pitching a scoreless eighth inning. Senior infielder and outfielder Meghan Romero and junior infielder Nicole Rounsavill went 3-for-5 at bat. Junior catcher and utility Virginia Irby reached base five times. Four Raiders had impressive multi-hit performances in the opening game.

The second game started with a motivated surge of energy from Army, making it a 0-2 game early on. Colgate could not get hits off at the beginning, but by the time the sixth inning rolled around, Irby began a hitting streak for the Raiders. Junior utility Cayman Coughlin stepped up to bat soon after and hit a two-run single to tie the game up.

At the bottom of the sixth, Army fought its way to the 3-2 lead. Starting the seventh, first-year infielder Morgan Farrah hit a homerun to make it a tied game again. Building off Farrah’s momentum, Irby scored another run to secure Colgate’s first lead of the game. The 4-3 game ended with a gritty win for the Raiders.

The final game played on Sunday started off slow for both teams, with neither team scoring until the third inning. Colgate managed to get the first run and use their adrenaline to their advantage. Junior outfielder Jordan Miller made a sacrifice fly in the third inning to create a 2-0 lead for the Raiders. Soon after, Army managed to squeeze a run into the third. Motivated to keep their lead, the Raiders pulled out all the stops. First-year outfielder Rebecca Johnson batted a single to the right field, allowing Coughlin to capitalize on her position on third base to score a run. Coughlin’s run made it a 3-2 game for the Raiders.

The Colgate team was feeding off each teammate’s adrenaline and you could see it in their determined performance. Miller scored at the top of the fifth to bring it to a two-run lead again. This ended the scoring streak, making it a 4-2 victory for the Raiders.

The Raiders finished the weekend with three very impressive performances against their respectable Patriot League opponent. Colgate’s resilient softball team has won five of their past six games, putting them in good shape for games to follow this weekend. The Raiders should be feeling pretty good after their three-game sweep weekend going into this week’s games.

The Raiders next games will be a Patriot League series at Boston University on Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14. The teams next home game will be on Wednesday, April 17 when they host Syracuse in Hamilton. The Raiders are third in the Patriot League so far after finishing last just two years ago.

Contact Liv Fitzgerald at [email protected].