Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU softball team concluded its first road series as a member of the Horizon League Sunday, splitting a doubleheader against Green Bay at King Park. The Colonials fell in game one, 9-2, before posting a 6-5 win in game two. RMU owns an overall record of 8-8 (.500) in 2021, including a mark of 3-5 (.375) in the Horizon League.
GAME 1 • L, 2-9
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Phoenix got their offense started early for the third consecutive game, taking a 5-0 advantage in the bottom of the first inning. In the first three games of the four-game set, Green Bay scored 11 runs in the home half of the first frame. Samantha Saloun, who scored the first run of the game after singling to right, added an RBI single in the bottom of the third to give the Phoenix a 6-0 lead. The advantage helped Brittany Baneck improve to 4-0 on the season, as she pitched four innings, striking out seven and walking one.
ROUND THE BASES
RMU got on the board in the top of the fourth thanks to a pair of extra base hits. Graduate student
Madison Riggle led off the inning with a double to right, and two batters later freshman
Charlotte Grover connected on a 2-0 pitch for her second home run of 2021 to pull the Colonials to within 6-2. Fellow rookie
Faith Miller led the RMU offense, collecting her first career multi-hit effort, going 3-for-3 with a double. Riggle also went 2-for-3 for the Colonials.
GAME 2 • W, 6-5
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU matched its hit total from the first three games of the series in earning the split Sunday, finishing with nine base knocks in earning a one-run victory. Tied, 4-4, heading into the top of the seventh, sophomore
Rachael Rhinehart led off the inning with a single to left. Three batters later and with two outs, Miller drew a walk and stole second with graduate student
Natalie Higgins in the box. The theft proved big for the Colonials, as Higgins worked the count full before ripping a single to left that scored Rhinehart and Miller with the eventual game-winning run.
DOWNTOWN
The two-run single from Higgins was part of a 3-for-4 afternoon for RMU's RBI leader, who pushed her season total in the category to 21 after driving in four in game two. It also marked the third three-hit effort of 2021 for Higgins, who tied the game, 4-4, in the top of the sixth with a solo shot to left. In 16 games, Higgins is hitting an even .400 (22-for-55) with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and 10 runs. The performance helped Rhinehart improve to 2-1 from the circle in 2021, who pitched three innings in relief of freshman
Jane Garver. Rhinehart allowed one run on two hits and struck out four.
SETTLING IN
Miller finished the doubleheader Sunday against Green Bay 4-for-6 with two runs, two RBI and a pair of doubles after going 1-for-3 in game two. She pushed her season average to .375 (6-for-16) in six games in seeing the most significant action of her young career against a Horizon League foe.
UP NEXT
RMU returns home to the North Athletic Complex for a six-game homestand. The Colonials open the stretch Tuesday, March 23, with a doubleheader against Cleveland State slated for first pitch at 2:30 p.m.
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