LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Lafayette came up a run short of completing a comeback in the second half of Wednesday's non-conference softball doubleheader at Rider.
 
The Leopards trailed 2-0 from the bottom of the first inning through the fifth following Elena Gonzalez's two-run triple for the Broncs. That was all of the offense that Leopard starter Jacqueline Cal allowed, as she surrendered only three more hits over the final five innings while striking out three and walking one.
 
Lafayette got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning. Julia Romano drew a lead-off walk and Jasmine Nguyen did her job, bunting Romano to second. An Erica Brasher ground out brought Romano 60 feet closer. She scored when the order turned over and Natasha Miner smacked a single back through the middle.
 
The Leopards trailed 2-1 going into the seventh and Romano reached base with a lead-off single. Nguyen's sac bunt moved her along with one out in the inning, but Rider reliever Jessie  Niegocki struck out Brasher and Miner to end the game.
 
In game one, Rider scored four runs in the third inning and that proved to be enough offense in a 7-0 final.
 
Rider starter Anne-Marie Groskritz held the Lafayette batting order to three hits, all singles.
 
The Broncs' rally in the fourth came on four hits and was aided by a pair of errors while Leopard starter Kinzi Van Wyk was in the circle. Rider added three more runs on four hits off Lafayette reliever Morrigan Gardiner in the sixth inning.
 
Lafayette returns to conference play this weekend at archrival Lehigh. The Leopards are slated to play a doubleheader on Saturday at noon and one game on Sunday.