GAMES 33-35
IUPUI (9-26 / 6-6 #HLSB) vs. RMU (19-13 / 8-3 #HLSB)
Friday, April 15, 2022 • 1:00 p.m. (DH)
Saturday, April 16, 2022 • 1:00 p.m.
North Athletic Complex • Moon Township, Pa.
 
Cracker Jack & Sunflower Seeds (Dubble Bubble, Too)
 
- The RMU softball team opens an eight-game homestand at the North Athletic Complex Friday with the beginning of a three-game series against IUPUI. The Colonials and Jaguars will square off in a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader Friday, April 15, before concluding the series Saturday, April 16, with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch in the single game.
 
- RMU was originally supposed to open its homestand Tuesday with a non-conference game against Kent State but the game was canceled due to poor field conditions.
 
- In their last action last weekend, the Colonials claimed their third Horizon League series win, taking two of three from Northern Kentucky in Highland Heights, Ky., at Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field. RMU won games one and three by the score of 5-3 but dropped the middle game of the series, 1-0.
 
- Fifth-year outfielder Alaina York hit .333 (3-for-9) during the series against the Norse, scoring a pair of runs and hitting a solo home run in the third game of the series, her first roundtripper of the 2022 season.
 
- Four pitchers combined to record an earned run average (ERA) of 1.80 in the series victory @ Northern Kentucky. Fifth-year Taylor Rhinehart came on in relief in two games, earning a win in the first game and save in the final contest of the series, her third of the 2022 season. In seven innings Rhinehart struck out six, allowed six hits and did not allow an earned run.
 
- In the finale of the three-game series @ Northern Kentucky the Colonials matched a season high by hitting three home runs. Sophomore Catalina Saxen gave RMU a 3-2 edge in the top of the second with a two-run shot and York followed two batters later with a solo home run. Later in the contest, junior Avery Winchell connected for her first home run of the year. A total of nine different Colonials have gone yard so far for RMU in 2022.
 
- Among Horizon League leaders, RMU enters action this weekend ranked third in the circuit in batting average (.261) and fourth in earned run average (3.66). Green Bay tops the league in batting average (.269) while Youngstown State paces #HLSB in earned run average (2.99).
 
- Against conference foes, the Colonials top #HLSB in batting average (.317), runs (72), doubles (25), total bases (183), slugging (.514) and RBI (61) while being tied atop the league leaderboard in home runs (13) with Green Bay.
 
- In five contests at the North Athletic Complex, freshman Jess Matheny is hitting .375 (6-for-16) and is one of five regulars hitting .300 or better at home. Sophomore Charlotte Grover has also hit .313 (5-for-16) in home games with a team-high five runs to go along with a pair of home runs and four RBI.
 
- In a poll of Horizon League head coaches, RMU was picked to finish fourth in the 2022 preseason poll. Tabbed as the favorite was Oakland, which was followed by Youngstown State and UIC. The Colonials are led by head coach Jexx Varner, who is in his fourth season at the helm of the program. He has posted a record of 62-79 (.440) in his tenure at RMU.
 
- RMU welcomes Green Bay for a doubleheader Wednesday, April 20, after hosting IUPUI. The Colonials and Phoenix have tried to play twice this spring but have been postponed twice due to inclement weather.

IUPUI LINKS
- Live Stats
- Video (G1 - 4/15/22)
- Video (G2 - 4/15/22)
- Video (G3 - 4/16/22)
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
 
The All-Time Series (IUPUI) – The Colonials and Jaguars have met six times on the diamond, with RMU owning a 5-1 (.833) advantage in the all-time series. Last season in the first meeting between the two programs as Horizon League foes, the Colonials took three of four in Indianapolis, Ind., at the IUPUI Softball Complex. In the series fifth-year Alaina York hit .400 (4-for-10) with three runs and a stolen base, while junior Avery Winchell hit a pair of solo home runs and a double as part of a .308 (4-for-13) effort at the dish. Winchell also scored four runs. Prior to the series last season, the Colonials and Jaguars played twice at the Orlando Rebel Games, once in 1991, a 4-1 victory for RMU, and the other in 2003, a 9-2 triumph in which former infielder Kali Byers (2003-06) connected for the first of her program career record 35 home runs.
 
Walk This Way – Senior Erika Bell enters action this week dotted all over the leaderboard in the Horizon League, as she is tied for third in the conference in RBI (21), fifth in doubles (8) as well as eighth in on-base plus slugging percentage (.912). Bell is also tied for fourth in #HLSB in walks with Nikki Saibene of Green Bay, a key reason she enters the series against IUPUI this weekend having reached base safely in each of RMU's last 14 games. During that stretch Bell is hitting .360 (18-for-50) with a team-high 14 RBI and six runs, seven doubles, a home run and 10 free passes. The streak of 14 consecutive games reaching base is the longest this season by a member of the Colonials and was originally established by freshman Alaina Koutsogiani, who opened the 2022 season by reaching base in each of RMU's first 14 tilts.
 
Did You Know? In 18 games as a starter for the Colonials, freshman Jess Matheny has produced for RMU, providing a .333/.346/.471 slash line. She's scored five runs and owns five extra base hits, including four doubles, while driving in seven.
 
Sesame Street – As part of Erika Bell's streak of 14 consecutive games safely reaching base, the senior has turned the trick in each of RMU's 11 games against Horizon League opposition. Joining her is sophomore Charlotte Grover, who against the league has produced a .317/.391/.634 slash line while tying for the team lead in runs (12) and home runs (3) with freshman Alaina Koutsogiani and ranking second to Bell in home runs (3). Grover is one of three Colonials to rank in the top 10 overall in the Horizon League in runs scored, as she is tied for eighth with Kendal Calvert of IUPUI with 20. Koutsogiani is pacing the circuit (25), while freshman Anna Resnik ranks seventh (21).

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