Softball Goes 2-2 in Pair of Doubleheaders at Lafayette

The Colgate softball team fought in four hard-played games this weekend, taking half of the victories against Lafayette. The two teams played a pair of doubleheaders both in Easton, Pa.

The Raiders took the second of the two games on Saturday, 11-5. Senior Jennifer Ortega, the team’s shortstop, tallied four hits with one home run, going four-for-five overall with three RBIs. Junior Emmie Dolfi matched Ortega’s four-for-five record and also added one RBI and one run of her own.

Lafayette started off strong with a threatening 3-0 lead as they tallied one score in each of the first three innings. The Raiders woke up quickly, however, boosting their morale with five runs at the top of the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, the first two hitters reached base. With sophomore Tera Vaughn at the plate, a double catapulted into left field to bring home the first runner. Ortega followed suit with a single to score the second runner. Senior Stephanie Hartquist doubled to clear the bases and give Colgate a 4-3 advantage over Lafayette.

The Leopards responded in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead again, 5-4. How-ever, that was the last time Lafayette saw the light as the Raiders took another five runs in the sixth inning. Three of Colgate’s first four hitters loaded the bases when Dolfi singled to bring in the first two. Junior Natalie Siedhof batted next and also struck gold with a single to left field to bring in the eighth Raider tally of the game. Sophomore Eileen Ornousky drove in two with another single to centerfield to make the score 10-4.

Even though Lafayette was able to take one run in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run, Colgate matched the run with another Ortega effort to mark her second homer of the season.

Day two marked another fight for the Raiders softball team. Once again, Colgate and La-fayette split the tally for the doubleheader as the Leopards secured the early win and the Raiders took game two of the day.

In the second game of the day, Colgate was the one to come out to the early lead with three runs in the top of the first inning and three more in the third to take a 6-0 lead. Vaughn batted in the first run of the competition with an RBI single. Ortega singled to put runners on second and third, and Dolfi batted next with a two-run single to bring the score to 3-0. Dolfi also brought home two runners in the third with a three-run homer.

The Raiders continued to charge forward with yet another score in the top of the fourth inning after Vaughn singled to bat in a runner. The Leopards finally reacted to score their sole run of the game, but junior Natalie Siedhof responded in the top of the fifth inning with a solo homer. The Raiders scored their last goal in the top of the seventh to close the game at 9-1.

The Raiders will play yet another doubleheader this weekend, this time against Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. The teams will play at noon and 2:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Contact Emma Barge at [email protected].