Lafayette College Athletics

LAWRENCEVILLE , N.J. - Lafayette softball finished up its non-conference play with a doubleheader split at Rider on Tuesday. The Leopards claimed game one 9-0 in five innings thanks to an offensive outburst of 13 hits along with a one-hit pitching performance. In the nightcap, a late rally fell short in a 6-5 final.

Andy Hegarty and Parker Rowden shined in the circle in game one, combining for a one-hit shutout. The rookie Hegarty pitched three hitless innings while Rowden tossed the final two innings, each with a strikeout.  

Lafayette scored in the top of the first. With the bases loaded, Katie Harrington was hit by a pitch to bring in Dani Rosner. Maggie Klug followed with a two-RBI single for the 3–0 advantage.

Kylee Sweet, who managed her 100th career hit on Tuesday, doubled in Caroline Hall in the second and while Harrington added a solo home run in the third, her sixth of the season, to make it 5–0.

The hits kept coming for Lafayette in the middle innings. Sweet plated Olivia Catalina with a sac fly in the fourth and Catalina extended the margin an inning later with a two-run home run. Catalina's first career home run stretched the final to a 9-0 win in five innings. 

Game two had a similar start to game one. Harrington drove in Hall with an RBI-groundout to give Lafayette the early lead. Rider responded in the second inning, capitalizing on an error to tie the game at 1–1.

The Leopards regained the lead in the fourth inning. Kylene Gooch and Olivia Catalina each recorded RBI-groundouts to make it 3-1. In the bottom half of the frame, Rider scored three runs via singles from Emma Morgan and Melissa Purcella.

Leading 4-3 entering the fifth, Rider extended its lead to 6–3 on Kendall Reda-Fehsal's two-run home run. 

Lafayette did not go away quietly. Ava Butler's solo home run sparked things in the seventh.  Jordan Goedel followed with a two-out RBI-single to make it 6-5. The Leopards had the tying run on third base before a groundout ended things. 

Makayla Lecky took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits. Goedel tossed the first two innings with a strikeout, while Sophia Alvarez-Backus went the final two frames and surrendered two runs on three hits with a strikeout. Lily Ornelas (2 ER, 9 H) went all seven for the circle win.

The Leopards close out the regular season with a three-game series weekend series at Lehigh. A doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday at noon followed by a single game.