Youngstown State (27-9 / 20-4 Horizon League) vs. RMU (21-13 / 16-10 Horizon League)
Friday, April 23, 2021 • 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 24, 2021 • 2:30 p.m.
North Athletic Complex • Moon Township, Pa.
 
Cracker Jack & Sunflower Seeds
 
- The RMU softball team closes out the home portion of its 2021 regular season with an eight-game homestand at the North Athletic Complex. To begin the final home stretch the Colonials welcome Youngstown State for a four-game set Friday, April 23, and Saturday, April 24.
 
- The Colonials sit in fourth place in the Horizon League standings entering their four-game set with the Penguins at the North Athletic Complex based on conference winning percentage. RMU has posted a .615 winning percentage, while Oakland, with a record of 15-9 (.625) in league play, occupies third place. The Colonials took three of four from the Golden Grizzlies earlier this season at the North Athletic Complex.
 
- In the #HLSB standings, RMU sits five games behind Youngstown State, which owns a 20-4 (.833) mark in league play. UIC sits in second play with a conference record of 19-7 (.731).
 
- RMU took three out of four from IUPUI in a road series last weekend in Indianapolis, Ind., earning two of those victories by one run. The Colonials posted wins of 5-3, 3-2 and 4-3 before falling in the finale, 5-4.
 
- During the four-game set with the Jaguars, senior Alaina York hit .400 (4-for-10) with three runs and a stolen base. York is one of just two Colonials to start each of RMU's 34 games during the 2021 season, joining graduate student Natalie Higgins.
 
- Sophomore Avery Winchell hit .308 (4-for-14) against IUPUI, connecting for the first two home runs of her career. She carries a five-game hitting streak into RMU's four-game series with Youngstown State.
 
- RMU leads the Horizon League in home runs (29) while also topping the league in doubles (54) with UIC. Elsewhere in the circuit, the Colonials rank third in runs (182), hits (260), RBI (158) and slugging percentage (.434) and fifth in on-base percentage (.343).
 
- Graduate student Natalie Higgins leads the Horizon League in RBI (40) while ranking second in batting average (.435), home runs (9), slugging percentage (.765) and on-base percentage (.476). Higgins has posted multi-hit efforts in nine of her last 13 games and overall in 2021 owns 19 multi-hit games and 12 contests in which she's driven in multiple runs.
 
- During the month of April, Higgins is hitting .465 (20-for-43) with team high totals in runs (12), doubles (4), home runs (5), RBI (12) and walks (5). She is just four runs shy of becoming the first player in program history with career totals of 200 hits, 100 runs and 100 RBI.
 
- The Colonials close their eight-game homestand at the North Athletic Complex after taking on Youngstown State by welcoming Northern Kentucky for a four-game set Friday, April 30, and Saturday, May 1.

YOUNGSTOWN STATE LINKS
- Video (4/23/21 - G1)
- Video (4/23/21 - G2)
- Video (4/24/21 - G1)
- Video (4/24/21 - G2)
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
 
The All-Time Series (YSU) – The Colonials and Penguins are no strangers on the diamond, as RMU has posted a record of 29-24 (.547) against Youngstown State in a series that dates back to 1991. The two teams split a doubleheader at the North Athletic Complex in the last matchup between the two programs April 10, 2019. The Penguins posted a 3-2 win in game one before RMU earned a split with a 4-1 triumph in game two. Dana Vatakis earned the win from the pitching circle in game two, allowing just two hits and an unearned run in the complete-game effort.
 
Diamond Duo – Sophomore Rachael Rhinehart and freshman Jane Garver have each come into their own from the pitching circle for the Colonials in 2021, and the pair are each in the midst of their best stretches for RMU. In six appearances in April for the Colonials, including three starts, Rhinehart is 4-0 with a 2.37 earned run average and 14 strikeouts in 20.2 innings. Garver, meanwhile, has struck out 18 while walking just six in 16.2 innings during the month of April, fashioning an ERA of 2.10 in five appearances, including three starting nods. During the month both Rhinehart and Garver have each notched their first collegiate save.
 
Round And Round – Graduate student Natalie Higgins leads the Colonials in home runs this season with nine and is just one more stroll around the bases of becoming the fourth student-athlete in program history to reach double digits in round-trippers. The RMU single-season record for home runs was set in 2003 by former Colonial Kali Byers (2003-06), who launched 11. In 2009, Jaci Timko (2009-12) hit 10 home runs, while eight years later Oliva Lorusso (2015-18) also connected for 10 during her junior season in 2017.  
 
Four Score – Taking advantage of scoring opportunities helps put check marks in the left column. Need proof? The quartet of graduate student Natalie Higgins, senior Alaina York, junior Erika Bell and freshman Charlotte Grover have combined to hit .766 (23-for-30) for RMU this season with a runner on third and less than two outs. As a team, the Colonials have taken advantage of bringing those runners home in that situation in 2021, hitting .605 (46-for-76).
 
Nat At Bat – In the opening game of RMU's four-game series at IUPUI last weekend, graduate student Natalie Higgins established a new program record by slashing her 42nd career double. Two at bats later in the top of the seventh inning, Higgins connected for another double, picking up career hit No. 200 in the process. It was part of 3-for-4 performance for the Middletown, Ohio, native and helped Higgins become just the fourth student-athlete in program history to eclipse the 200-hit threshold at RMU. She enters this weekend's series with Youngstown State ranked third in program history for hits …
 

Name	Years	Hits
1. Jordan Gurganus	2014-17	250
2. Jill Spargo	2004-07	219
3. Natalie Higgins	2017-21	202
4. Jaci Timko	2009-12	201
5. Jessica Calderone	2008-12	192

Did You Know? Should head coach Jexx Varner pencil in Natalie Higgins into the third spot in the lineup for each of Friday's games against Youngstown State, Higgins will push her career total in games played to 190. She'll become just the sixth student-athlete in program history to appear in that many games, tying former third baseman Kali Byers (2003-06) for fifth. Only two student-athletes have appeared in 200 career games in an RMU uniform, with Cassie Show (2011-14) and Jordan Gurganus (2014-17) each owning a share of the school record with 202.

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