Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU softball team opened a four-game series with Oakland Friday at the North Athletic Complex, splitting a pair of contests. The Colonials dropped a 10-1 decision to the Golden Grizzlies in six innings in game one before erasing a three-run deficit to claim a 4-3 victory in the nightcap. RMU owns an overall record of 11-9 (.550) in 2021, including a 6-6 (.500) mark in the Horizon League.
GAME 1 • L, 1-10 (6)
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Aided by a blustery afternoon, Oakland (8-6 / 7-3 #HLSB) hit three home runs in the opener of the four-game series, the first of which came from Lauren Griffith in the opening frame and gave the Golden Grizzlies a 2-0 advantage. The Colonials got a run back in the bottom of the first, as junior
Kristýna Malá reached third on an error to open the home half before freshman
Faith Miller brought her home with a sacrifice fly. Oakland added two more runs in the second thanks to a round tripper from Cammie Brummitt and effectively sealed the win in the sixth as Jamie Squires connected for a three-run shot that gave the Golden Grizzlies a nine-run advantage.
OFF BALANCE
Sydney Campbell kept the Colonials off balance in game one from the circle, yielding just three hits and a walk while striking out three in improving to 6-1 on the 2021 season. She needed just 74 pitches, getting nine outs on the ground and six more through the air. Oakland banged out 13 hits, including five for extra bases, as the top three in the order of Brummitt, Madison Jones and Griffith combined to go 6-for-10 with six runs, three RBI and a pair of walks.
GAME 2 • W, 4-3
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Oakland scored runs in each of the top half of the first and second innings and grabbed 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth when Squires scored an unearned run. RMU began its climb back in the bottom of the fourth. Graduate student
Natalie Higgins poked a one-out single to right field, which was followed by a sharp liner up the middle by fellow grad student
Madison Riggle. Two batters later, junior
Erika Bell laced a single to right to drive in the first run of the game for the Colonials, scoring Higgins. The Colonials made it a one-run game as junior
Brittney Seibert followed Bell with an RBI single to left, scoring freshman
Charlotte Grover.
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
Higgins led off the bottom of the sixth by dropping a single down the right field line, with sophomore
Ariana Garroway getting the call to pinch run. Garroway, however, was thrown out at second after a bunt attempt from freshman
Julia Ehrman hung in the air long enough for Gracey Henckel to scoop the ball and fire to second to nab Garroway.
Charlotte Grover followed by lining out to left field, setting up the battle between Bell and Henckel. Working the count full and spoiling multiple pitches, Bell followed with a line drive over the center field wall for a two-run home run, giving the Colonials a 4-3 lead and their first lead of the afternoon.
MASTERFUL
The dinger for Bell helped junior
Dana Vatakis improve to 4-4 on the 2021 season after a masterful performance. She allowed just one earned run and matched a season high with seven strikeouts for the fourth time on the year. Vatakis retired each of the final 11 hitters she faced and didn't allow a hitter to reach safely after Squires led off the fourth with a single to center. She tossed 105 pitches, inducing 11 groundouts.
STEADY INFLUENCE
Bell paced the offense in game two, going 2-for-3 with a run and three RBI as one of two Colonials to record a multi-hit effort. She was joined by Higgins, who finished 2-for-3 with a run. Bell has pushed her average to .327 (17-for-52) on the year, and her home run in the sixth marked her first of the season.
UP NEXT
RMU concludes a six-game homestand as well as its four-game set with the Golden Grizzlies Saturday, March 27, with a doubleheader slated to start at Noon at the North Athletic Complex.
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