EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette softball wrapped up its home slate with Senior Day on Sunday, honoring
Olivia Catalina,
Kylene Gooch,
Maggie Klug,
Marisa Powell,
Dani Rosner and
Kylee Sweet prior to the first game on Sunday.
Colgate took both ends of the doubleheader, winning a pitchers' duel, 1-0, in game one before securing a 5-3 final in the series finale.
Powell and Maya Servedio sparred from the circle in game one, limiting the offenses' scoring chances. The Leopards' best opportunity in the bottom of the third inning. Consecutive infield singles by
Caroline Hall and Rosner put two runners on. The Leopards loaded the bases with two outs, but Servedio enticed
Ava Butler into a flyout to end the threat.
In the fourth, Colgate scored the only run of the game when the first batter of the inning, Marina Taveras, smacked a home run. Powell minimized the damage to one run and pitched into the fifth before being lifted in favor of
Jordan Goedel.
In the seventh, with the score still 1-0, the Leopards' put the tying runner on first base via a Klug lead-off walk. A 3-6 double play ended the game.
Powell took the hard-luck loss, allowing one run while striking out six and walking one. Goedel tossed the final three frames and gave up just one hit. Servedio was the winner, tossing six innings of two-hit softball. Kelcie McGraw, the game three starter, earned a save.
In game two, Lafayette struck first. In the second inning, back-to-back singles by
Katie Harrington and Klug put runners on first and third with one out. Head coach
Kelliner Croushore put the runners in the motion, Colgate threw to second and the throw was late as Harrington scored from home for the 1-0 lead.
The visitors answered with lone runs in the third (Haluska RBI-single) and fifth (Raffaelli sac fly) to take their first lead of the afternoon, 2-1.
As the game moved to the seventh Colgate pushed across three insurance runs on four hits to lead 5-1. The Leopards followed with their own last-inning rally. Lafayette loaded the bases before Butler delivered a two-run single to push the final to 5-3.
Sophia Alvarez-Backus (2 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 2K) pitched 6.2 innings before giving way to Goedel who made her team-high 22
nd appearance. Kelcie McGraw, the series opener winner, tossed seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.
The Leopards will play their final non-league games of the season with a doubleheader at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at Rider.
