VESTAL, N.Y. – Junior catcher Sara Herskowitz and sophomore shortstop Makayla Alvarez each hit two home runs as Binghamton (12-15) split a non-conference softball doubleheader against Colgate (13-17) on Tuesday afternoon at the Bearcats Sports Complex softball facility. The Bearcats dropped the opener 15-11 before bouncing back to win the second game 13-5.

Herskowitz homered once in each game and finished with five RBI for the day. With two doubles, she also finished with four extra base hits and scored a team-best six runs.

Alvarez, meanwhile, clubbed both of her homers in the second game. She finished the doubleheader 4-for-6 (.667) and drove in seven runs – five of which came in the nightcap.

Sophomore third baseman Sarah Benn hit a team-best .714 (5-for-7) and scored four times while sophomore outfielder Hannah Lyons was 6-for-9 (.667) and drove in six runs.

With the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the third inning of the second game, Alvarez drilled a two-run home run over the center field fence. Two batters later, sophomore outfielder Lauren Martinez stretched the lead to 5-2 with a RBI double.

Binghamton then blew the game open with eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, padding its lead to 13-2. Herskowitz and Alvarez each smacked two-run home runs and Martinez added a RBI double during that frame.

Freshman pitcher Morgan Bienkowski went the distance, improving her record to 2-4. The loss was tagged to Bella Crowe, who is now 6-7.

The five RBI by Alvarez is the highest total by a Binghamton player since current junior pitcher Rozlyn Price drove in six runs against Stony Brook on April 14, 2019. Alvarez is also the first Bearcat player to homer twice in a game since Price in that same game last year against the Seawolves.

Lyons and Martinez each had a team-best three hits in the second game.

"I thought we responded very well in the second game," head coach Michelle Johnston said. "We stayed loose and were more aggressive with the pitches that they threw us. It resulted in us hitting the ball hard and with some power."

In the opener, Binghamton appeared to be control of the game with a 9-5 lead through the first three innings. The Raiders, however, took advantage of an error in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game with four unearned runs.

The Bearcats retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run single by Lyons. Colgate, however, sealed the win with three runs in both the top of the sixth and seventh innings.

Colgate hit five home runs in the first game, two of which came from Jordan Miller. Miller and Morgan Farrah each drove in a team-best four runs in the opener.

Kaitlyn Burruso pitched four innings in relief to get the win. She is now 3-2. Junior Rayn Gibson took the loss, dropping her record to 5-7.

Lyons finished with a team-high four RBI in the opener while Herskowitz scored a career-high four times.

The 26 total runs in the first game ties the Bearcats Sports Complex Facility record. That mark was set back on May 2, 2014 when Stony Brook defeated Binghamton 16-10.

Junior outfielder Stephanie Ragusa finished the day 3-for-5 (.600) while freshman second baseman Alli Richmond went 3-for-7 (.429).

As a team, Binghamton hit .469 during the doubleheader.

Binghamton travels to Stony Brook this weekend for a three-game America East series. The two squads will square off in a noon doubleheader on Saturday and conclude with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

NOTES: Lyons now leads the team with a .343 batting average for the season. Alvarez has a team-best five home runs while Herskowitz has homered four times and driven in a team-best 19 runs ... dating back to 2014, Binghamton and Colgate have split their last four doubleheaders.