Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU softball team continued play in the Winthrop Invitational Saturday, running its winning streak to five with a pair of wins in Rock Hill, S.C., at Terry Field. The Colonials knocked off Towson, 8-0, in five innings before charging back to score two in the top of the seventh for a 2-1 victory over the host Eagles. The fifth consecutive win helped RMU improve to 8-1 (.889) during the 2022 season.
GAME 1 vs. Towson • W, 8-0 (5)
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Four runs in the third inning on four hits, aided by three errors by the Tigers, helped the Colonials jump out to an early lead they wouldn't relinquish. Sophomore
Julia Ehrman stole second after singling with one and then came around to score on a throwing error by pitcher Madeline Harris. Freshman
Alaina Koutsogiani laid down a bunt and forced an errant throw by Harris, which allowed Ehrman to sprint home with the first run of the game. Koutsogiani scored on a throwing error by catcher Jess DaBreo, as her throw trying to nab
Alaina York trying to seal second reached center field. Sophomore
Charlotte Grover added an RBI single that scored York, with
Taylor Rhinehart also scoring on the play due to a throwing error.
WRAP IT UP
York walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of fourth to give the Colonials a 5-0 advantage, and RMU sealed the win with three more in the fifth. Grover led off the inning with a single up the middle and came around to score two batters later thanks to an RBI single by freshman
Anna Resnik. Two batters later, Ehrman smacked a double to left center, her first collegiate extra base hit, to score Resnik, and an error aided in the clinching run of the contest. Koutsogiani lifted a ball to right center that was misplayed, allowing Ehrman to score.
CONTROL
The offensive outburst helped rookie
Madison DeVault improve to 2-0 on the 2022 campaign in the circle. Logging five innings and working around three walks, she struck out eight while giving up just four hits. DeVault is the third member of the RMU pitching staff to record at least eight strikeouts in a game through the first eight games of the season, joining senior
Dana Vatakis and Rhinehart.
GAME 2 @ Winthrop • W, 2-1
COMEBACK KIDS
Stymied by Reese Basinger of the Eagles, RMU could muster only three hits off the rookie hurler through the first six innings. In the seventh, trailing 1-0 and down to their final at bat, the Colonials broke through. Behind in the count, one and two, leading off the inning, Grover cleared the fence in center for her first home run of the 2022 season to tie the game, 1-1.
Meadow Sacadura followed with a double to right center, and after
Brittney Seibert came on to pinch run, Resnik singled to the pitcher, moving Seibert to third. Ehrman loaded the bases with one out with a fielders choice thanks to her speed, and with Koutsogiani at the plate, Basinger uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Seibert to trot home with the go-ahead run.
SEALING THE DEAL
Rhinehart, on in relief of RMU starter
Dana Vatakis, struck out the first two batters she faced in the seventh inning. Lauren Daniels came on to pinch hit for Winthrop and singled to left on a 1-1 count. Kaitlyn Tucker followed for the Eagles and drove the count full before Rhinehart picked up her third punch out of the inning and fourth in two innings of work to seal the win. She picked up the win from the circle, her first as a member of the Colonials, with Vatakis allowing just one earned run in her five innings of work while striking out seven.
HOW ABOUT THAT
At 8-1 (.889), RMU is off to its best start in program history. In 2005, the last time the Colonials made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, RMU opened the year 5-4 (.556) through nine games en route to a 29-win season. Th 1992, 1993 and 2001 Colonials also opened the year 5-4 (.556) in their first nine contests. The program record for victories in a season is 35, which came in 2012. That year the Colonials also opened with a ledger of 5-4 (.556).
UP NEXT
RMU concludes play in the Winthrop Invitational Sunday with its second matchup of the tournament against Albany. First pitch at Eagle Field is 10:00 a.m.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | RMU Athletics Gameday App
