Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU softball team concluded a four-game series with Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday, splitting a pair of games and earning its second consecutive series victory. The Colonials posted a 4-3 win game one in nine innings before falling in the nightcap, 9-5. RMU owns an overall record of 16-10 (.615) on the 2021 campaign, including an 11-7 (.611) mark in the Horizon League.
GAME 1 • W, 4-3 (9)
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU extended its winning streak to a season-high six games by earning a nine-inning victory over the Mastodons, but not without drama. Nursing a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh, Rachel Everson came up with the heroics for Purdue Fort Wayne (5-15 / 4-12 #HLSB), connecting for a solo shot to left center with one out to tie the game, 3-3. The dinger spoiled an otherwise impressive performance from rookie hurler
Jane Garver, who allowed two earned runs in seven innings. She allowed just four hits and walked a pair while striking out 10, a season high by an RMU pitcher.
EXTRA EXTRA
RMU loaded the bases with one out in the top of ninth. Junior
Kristýna Malá led off with a single, graduate student
Natalie Higgins followed with a base knock and junior
Erika Bell drew a walk. Rookie
Charlotte Grover came up with the bases full and ripped a ball down the third base line that Lexi Smalarz got a glove on but couldn't field cleanly. Her only play was to force Higgins out at third base, with Malá racing home with the go-head run.
LAST CHANCE
Kyndell Ethridge led off the bottom of the ninth with a double for the Mastodons off sophomore
Rachael Rhinehart, who relieved Garver in the bottom of the eighth. Morganne Denny moved Ethridge over with a sacrifice bunt, but Rhinehart induced an Alise Hale popup to second before closing out the victory by getting Everson on a comebacker to the circle. Rhinehart improved to 5-2 on the year with two scoreless innings of relief, striking out one.
TOP THIRD
Malá, freshman
Faith Miller and Higgins again did damage at the top of the order for the Colonials, combining to go 4-for-12 with four runs in the game one victory. Bell and Grover each finished 1-for-3, with Bell driving in a run and Grover adding two RBI. RMU improved to 5-2 on the 2021 season in one-run affairs with the victory.
GAME 2 • L, 5-9
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Colonials grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, as a fielder's choice from Grover brought home Miller with the game's first run. The Mastodons responded by plating five in the bottom of half of the frame. Ethridge opened the inning with a double, and Meagan Mullaney came up with the big hit, driving home a pair with a single to center that was misplayed by the Colonials, bringing home another run for Purdue Fort Wayne.
CLOSING IN
RMU got a pair of those runs back in the top of the fourth, as Higgins worked the count full before drawing a walk to bring home senior
Alaina York, who also reached by drawing a free pass. Grover also brought home Malá by reaching on an error to make it 5-3. Purdue Fort Wayne sealed the win, however, in the bottom of the fourth with four runs on three hits. Denny provided the big hit for the Mastodons with a two-run home run to center.
GROVER KENT
Grover concluded the scoring in the contest with her fourth home run of the campaign, a two-run shot in the top of the sixth. In the four-game series, the rookie drove in eight runs for the Colonials.
TRUCKING
Higgins finished 2-for-4 with an RBI in game two, stretching her hitting streak to five games. She has posted a multi-hit effort in each contest, going 10-for-18 (.556) during that stretch with three runs, four RBI, a home run and three walks. Higgins has also hit safely in nine of her last 11 games, producing an average of .514 (19-for-37) during that span. Overall in 26 games in 2021, Higgins owns a slash line of .437/.485/.690.
UP NEXT
RMU concludes its six-game road trip Tuesday, April 6, with a doubleheader at Northern Kentucky. First pitch is slated for Noon.
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