Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University softball team opened play in the Runnin' Bulldog Softball Tournament Friday in Boiling Springs, N.C., with a pair of victories, posting a 2-1 win over Valparaiso behind a stellar pitching performance from sophomore
Dana Vatakis before earning a 6-4 triumph over Colgate. The two wins move RMU to 4-2 on the 2020 season.
GAME 1 • vs. Valparaiso • W, 2-1
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Vatakis took a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh against the Crusaders, but Kelsie Packard, pinch hitting to lead off the inning, singled to break up the no-no. Kate Beckemeyer pinch ran for Packard and came around to score the only run for Valparaiso on an RMU error. Vatakis was unfazed, getting Brittany Anderson to pop out to second base and striking out Morgan Matalin to notch the complete game and improve to 2-2 (.500) on the young season. She struck out six and walked three in the win and in four appearances so far this year has fashioned an 0.74 ERA, yielding just a pair of earned runs in 19 innings of work.
PUT IT ON THE BOARD
Robert Morris scored its first run of the contest in the top of the second inning, as junior
Alaina York hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored freshman
Antonia Schaefer, who drew a one-out walk and advanced to third courtesy of double from sophomore
Brittney Seibert. Seibert also scored what proved to be the deciding run in the top of the fifth. She reached on error and scored on an error by catcher Taylor Tonoian. Seibert collected a pair of hits in the win, while senior
Taryn Miller finished 2-for-3.
GAME 2 • vs. Colgate • W, 6-4
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU fell behind, 4-0, just four batters into the contest when Nicole Rounsavill hit a grand slam to give the Raiders the early lead. The Colonials chipped away with a run in the bottom of the second and two more in the third before jumping in front, 6-4, with a three-run sixth. York came up with the big hit with a two-run triple that scored by Schaefer and sophomore
Madison Shiderly. Senior
Natalie Higgins followed with an RBI single to drive home York.
YARD WORK
Higgins led off the bottom of the third with her second home run of the season to get Robert Morris on the board and finished 3-for-4 in the victory with a run and two RBI. She stretched her hitting streak to five Friday and has opened the 2020 campaign with a .476 batting average to go along with three doubles, two home runs, nine RBI and five runs scored.
SETTLING IN
Despite falling behind, senior
Madison Riggle came through with a complete game from the pitching circle for RMU in the win over Colgate, striking out six and allowing just four hits in notching her first win of the year. Through the first six contests of the season, opponents are hitting just .184 (27-for-147) and have produced a slugging percentage of just .252 against Robert Morris pitching.
UP NEXT
The Colonials continue play in the Runnin' Bulldog Softball Tournament Saturday with a pair of contests. RMU takes on host Gardner-Webb at Noon before facing Colgate for the second time in the tourney at 4:00 p.m.
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