The Raiders went 2-2 this past weekend in their first games of Patriot League play at West Point. They dropped the first two games on Saturday but bounced back to pick up two big wins on Sunday afternoon. A pair of 3-0 leads couldn’t keep Colgate ahead as Army rallied twice to sweep a doubleheader on the first day of league play.

Colgate was led offensively by first-year Mariel Schlaefer, who went a combined 6-for-9 on the day with two runs scored and two RBIs. Fellow first-year Marisa Dowling and junior Haley Fleming also added their first home runs of the season for the Raiders in the

opening game.

Colgate showed resiliency on the second day of play by earning two wins after getting swept on Saturday. The Raiders got a close 3-2 win and a convincing 7-2 victory over the Black Knights to grab a .500 record in Patriot League play. Once again a pair of first-years led the Colgate offense. Dowling went 3-for-7 and added three runs and one RBI on the day, while Schlaefer went 3-for-6 with one run and one RBI. Junior outfielder Tera Vaughn also turned in two solid performances for the Raiders on the day, going 2-for-5, scoring two runs and driving three home. Junior teammate Eileen Ornousky added two hits, two runs and three RBIs on the afternoon as well.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Colgate jumped out to an early lead. After a scoreless first inning, the Raiders knocked in three runs in the second to take the 3-0 advantage. The Black Knights pulled to within 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth but Colgate held off Army in the last two innings for its first conference win of the season. Winning first-year pitcher Brigit Iueter went just over five innings, allowing only six hits and giving up two runs. Reliever and fellow first-year

Megan Carnase came in to finish the game for the Raiders, pitching the last

inning on the mound.

In the last game of the weekend, the Raiders scored five runs in the top of the seventh to split their weekend with the Black Knights. Senior outfielder Alana Dyson singled to center field before advancing to second following a Dowling single to the pitcher. Schlaefer moved the runners into scoring position when she hit a single to left field.

The next batter, senior captain Emmie Dolfi hit a single to left field, scoring Dyson. Ornousky then hit a double to left field, scoring two more runs for the Raiders as both Dowling and Schlaefer were brought home. Vaughn finished out the scoring when she smacked a two-run single to left field. Ornousky and Dolfi crossed home to create the five-run lead for the visiting Raiders.

Senior pitcher Courtney O’Connell got three quick outs in the bottom half of the inning to secure the win for the Raiders. O’Connell earned her third win of the season after she went seven innings allowing only four hits and two runs.

“This weekend our team came together on both offense and defense. On Sunday we were very successful offensively, getting key hits with runners in scoring position, and defensively, making big plays and getting out of innings with Army’s runners in scoring position. In winning both games Sunday, we proved to ourselves that as a team we have everything it takes to be successful this season,”

Fleming said.  

The Raiders look to build on their Sunday showing this upcoming weekend as they host Bucknell in their conference home opener. The Raiders will once again play back-to-back Saturday-Sunday doubleheaders. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday at Eaton

Street Field.

Contact Catherine Lewis at

[email protected].