Although its game on Thursday against Marist was postponed due to unplayable weather conditions, the Colgate softball team played four games against Holy Cross at home this weekend, splitting the series 2-2.

This series was Colgate’s home opener at Eaton Street Field. In an offensive explosion, the team tallied at least 6 runs in each game. The team is now 20-10 on the season and 3-5 in Patriot League play.

In Saturday’s opener, every batter in the lineup contributed a hit (first-years Alana Dyson and Emmie Dolfi each hit two) as the team produced 11 hits overall on the way to an 8-2 victory.

Junior Nicole Siedhof opened up the scoring for Colgate with a run-scoring single. The Crusaders struck back, tying the game in the second.

The Raiders blew the game open in the bottom of the fifth with three more runs. Sophomore captain Jennifer Ortega brought sophomore Amanda Zranchev to homeplate on a single up the middle. Ortega and sophomore Stephanie Hartquist scored later in the inning as a result of errors by the Holy Cross centerfielder and catcher.

With a 6-2 lead, the Colgate batters continued to pound out runs, adding two more in the sixth. Junior Brittney Hanrahan led off the sixth with a home run to left, her first of the season. Dolfi recorded the final run in the game, scoring from third on an error.

Sophomore Michelle Hollebeke put in another great game as she pitched the full seven innings and struck out six. Her record improved to 10-5.

The Raiders also took the win that afternoon, downing Holy Cross 9-8. Colgate began the game with a bang, scoring six runs in the first and second before Holy Cross answered in the third. Down 7-2 in the third, Holy Cross slowly began drawing closer with a three-run home run in the fifth.

When Holy Cross drew within one in the sixth, Colgate pushed another pair of runs across the board on a sacrifice fly from Hartquist to plate Dolfi from third. Ortega’s double to right secured another much needed insurance run for Colgate. Although the Crusaders got back to within one, they ended up stranding the tying run on third as the game ended.

The Raiders returned to Eaton Street Field on Sunday but were unable to repeat the previous day’s success. In the opener, Colgate lost 8-6, giving up an early lead. Despite having a four-run lead by the start of the third, the Raiders were unable to hold off Holy Cross’ offense.

With three runs in the sixth to break a 5-5 tie, the Crusaders took the win. In this game, Hollebeke pitched six innings, giving up 12 hits and all eight runs. Hollebeke was assigned the 10-6 loss.

That same afternoon, Colgate returned from a deep deficit to bring the game to a tie. Holy Cross, however, still earned the win, 10-9.

Entering into the top of the fifth down 9-4, Colgate reinvigorated the game by scoring five. First-year Natalie Siedhof scored two with a bases loaded single to center. Then, Nicole Siedhof rocked a threerun home run to tie the game. This was Siedhof’s fourth home run of the season. Holy Cross untied the game in the bottom of the sixth, holding on to their slim lead for the remainder of the game.

In the circle, junior Lacy Ver Steeg began the game, giving up five runs on five hits in two innings. First-year Courtney O’Connell earned the loss in relief, pitching four innings and giving up five runs on five hits.

Notably, Hartquist extended her hitting streak during the weekend, stretching it to a team high 17 games. Also, she is currently ranked first in the nation for sacrifice flies.

Despite the great offensive productivity which the Raiders displayed throughout the weekend, the games remained close as Holy Cross was able to manufacture many of its own runs.

A testament to the competitive nature of the Patriot League, this pattern mirrors the results of last weekend’s bouts with Lehigh. Over the course of the last two weeks, while facing Patriot League teams, Colgate’s games have only been decided by a margin of more than two runs one time. This came in the first game of this weekend’s series.

The Raiders will next be in action this weekend, as the softball team will travel to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania for a four-game series where they will face conference foe Bucknell.

Contact Rebecca [email protected].