VESTAL, N.Y. — Colgate softball swept a doubleheader against Binghamton on the road, winning the first game, 3-1, and escaping with a 12-10 game two victory. Rookie sensation Kiley Shelton hit .625 (5-for-8) with three RBIs and two runs, while Rachel Carney went .500 (4-for-8) in the batter's box with four runs and an RBI.

"The bats were huge tonight," Head Coach Marissa Lamison-Myers said. "When you come to a place like this you know it's going to be a slugfest. Binghamton is a great team and we had to rely on what we do best, which is swing the bat."

The Raiders racked up 21 hits on the evening including 15 in the second outing, the most hits in a game since April 2, 2019, when Colgate defeated Binghamton on the road, 15-11. 

Shelton also set a new career-high with four hits in game two where she tied the program record for most RBIs in a season by a first-year(36). Carney tied her personal best with a trio of base knocks in the 15-11 triumph, while Amanda DeSantis logged her first-ever multi-hit performance.

Not to be outdone by Raiders' hitters, fifth-year pitcher Bailey Misken threw her 16th complete game of the season in the opener and picked up the save in the nightcap.

"Bailey is the best," Lamison-Myers said. "It's as simple as that. She's just the best." 

Game 1: Colgate 3, Binghamton 1 
After Carney tripled on the first pitch of the evening, Jillian Herbsts' ground ball to second base scored the opening run for the Raiders. Quinn Livesay also added an RBI single in the first to assert an early two-run lead. 

Misken found herself in a jam with Bearcats on first and second with one out, but a strikeout and a ground ball held Binghamton scoreless after one. 

In the top of the second, Shelton singled home Herbst for her 34th RBI of the season, which was all Misken needed to seal the win on the road. 

She conceded one unearned run in the second but only allowed one hit for the remaining five innings. 

Colgate's all-time leader in strikeouts ended her day with eight Ks, no earned runs and just two walks in seven innings of work. Colgate needed every bit of Misken magic, as the Raider hitters struggled with only one hit in the final five frames.

Luckily, Misken was on the money in her 16th complete game of the season, and she is now in an 11-way tie for the 16th most complete games in all of NCAA Division I. 

Game 2: Colgate 12, Binghamton 10
Another hot start saw Colgate plate two runs on two hits in the opening inning. Shelton added the first RBI of the game, and DeSantis drove in her second run of the season when Herbst scored on a grounder to third base. 

Binghamton cut the lead in half after the first frame, but the Raiders took the reins with a seven-hit, seven-run third inning where Colgate kept the bases-loaded for five-straight batters. In each of those five at-bats Colgate tacked on an RBI with the remaining two runs coming from Bearcat errors. 

Despite the 9-1 score after three innings, Binghamton did not roll over. They fought off the mercy rule with a four-run fourth, but Colgate cut the momentum when Shelton's third hit of the game allowed Herbst to scamper home from first. 

The Bearcats would score again in the fifth and sixth to tie the game at 10 with one inning to play. 

Shelton came to the rescue for the Raiders, tying the program record for most runs batted in by a first-year with her fourth hit of the game, a go-ahead RBI double.

Adrienne Nardone added to the advantage with a sacrifice fly that provided a two-run cushion for Misken. The fifth-year picked up her third save of the season when she retired Binghamton in order in the seventh, sealing Colgate's sixth win in its last seven games.

UP NEXT
The Raiders will enjoy a bye week before rounding out non-conference action at home against UAlbany on Wednesday, May 1.