April 12, 2014
EASTON, Pa. - Colgate belted three home runs, including a grand slam, to sweep Saturday's Patriot League softball doubleheader with Lafayette, 6-0 and 5-1.
In the opener, Colgate managed all of the offense it needed in the second inning. Tara Grennan led off with a solo homer. The big blow came with two outs, as Marisa Dowling ripped a grand slam over the wall in leftfield, her third round-tripper of the season. Dowling drove in another run in the seventh, accumulating five RBI in the game.
The Leopards could not push across a run in the opener, leaving a pair of runners on in the third, fifth and seventh while managing seven hits in the game. Bryn Gornick and Kristen Berger were both 2-for-3 in the game.
Brigit Ieuter (5-9) struck out four in the circle victory while walking one. Melissa Robinson (2-12) was hit with the loss, giving up five earned runs on nine hits over six innings. Gornick struck out one in a scoreless seventh.
In game two, Grennan's second home run of the afternoon, a two-run shot in the third inning, provided the spark for the Colgate offense in the 5-1 final.
The team traded runs in the first inning with Colgate scoring on Mariel Schlaefer's single. In the bottom of the inning, Lafayette parlayed Kristen Berger's lead-off single into a run. With runners on second and third and two outs, Gornick hit a ground ball to shortstop Alyssa Chaulkin. Berger was running with the contact and scored at home before Chaulkin retired Jenna Kulback on a tag at third. The game was tied at 1-1.
Colgate took the lead for good, 3-1, in the third inning on Grennan's two-run home run. The Raiders padded the advantage with two runs on three Leopard errors in the fifth inning.
Lafayette starter Lindsey Cherry (1-8) gave up five runs, just two of which were earned, on 10 hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Gornick threw the final 1.1 innings and did not give up a hit. Megan Carnase (2-8) was the winner, striking out three while allowing one run on three hits with three walks.
The Leopards (4-25, 2-9) and Raiders (9-19, 2-6) will conclude the three-game Patriot League series on Sunday at noon. Prior to the game, Lafayette will honor its two seniors, Melissa Robinson and Amy Gebhardt, along with their families.
