WORCESTER, MASS. — Five Raiders hit above .300 on the day and Bailey Misken pitched seven and two-thirds innings without an earned run when Colgate split a series-opening doubleheader with Holy Cross on the road.

A 12-0 romp saw Jillian Herbst (3), Adrienne Nardone (3) and Kiley Shelton (2) all tally multiple RBIs while Misken tossed a one-hit shutout. In game two, the Raiders tallied nine hits but left 10 runners on base, and multi-hit performances from Kara Fusco, Quinn Livesay and Nardone were spoiled by a 3-2 defeat. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Game 1 - Colgate 12, Holy Cross 0
Herbst lit the scoreboard up for the first time in game one with a two-RBI single in the third inning, and she scored one batter later on a Nardone double off the right field wall. 

Misken, who ended her fourth shutout of the season only allowing one hit, struck out two in the home half of the third, setting Colgate up for a monster fourth frame where the visitors took control. 

The seven-run inning began with three straight errors to plate Livesay. Carney then singled to right which extended the lead to five before Colgate's third, fourth, fifth and sixth hitters all delivered RBIs in consecutive at-bats.

In the three-hole, Shelton whistled a two-run double down the right-field line and Nardone scored Herbst on a sacrifice fly from the cleanup spot. 

Kara Fusco's RBI two-bagger forced a pitching change and Livesay welcomed the new Crusader arm with a single to score Fusco from second. 

After ballooning the lead to 10 runs, Herbst cashed in on her third RBI of the day in the top of the fifth while Nardone hit another sacrifice fly for Colgate's 12th tally of the afternoon. 

Misken would then retire the Crusaders in order with the mercy rule in effect to push the Raiders' league record to 6-7 on the season.

Game 2 - Colgate 2, Holy Cross 3
The Raiders picked up where they left off in game 1 by loading the bases in the first inning, but they could not push any runners across the plate in what would be their best opportunity of the second outing.   

The Crusaders returned the favor by loading the bases with only one out in the bottom of the first, but Maya Servedio forced a foul out and a putout to work out of the jam. 

Niamh Dougherty finally broke the stalemate in the top of the third, ripping a double over the left fielder's head to score Nardone from second for her second hit and first RBI of the day.

The lead did not hold for long, though, as a wild pitch from Servedio allowed the tying run to cross the plate in the bottom of the fourth. Holy Cross would take the lead with a two-RBI single, jumping out to a 3-1 lead with three frames left to play. 

The Raiders stranded three runners across the fifth and sixth innings that sent them into the seventh trailing by two. 

Back-to-back hits from Fusco and Livesay cut the deficit to one, but Dougherty could not plate the game-tying run and the Raiders fell in game two of the doubleheader. 

UP NEXT
Colgate rounds out the series against Holy Cross at noon on Sunday before a Wednesday doubleheader at Binghamton.