Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU softball team continued an eight-game homestand Friday by opening a three-game series with Purdue Fort Wayne with an 11-6 victory at the North Athletic Complex. In stretching their winning streak to five, the Colonials improved to 23-13 (.639) overall during the 2022 campaign, including 12-3 (.800) in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Falling behind early in recent weeks, the Colonials scored three in the first and added three more in the second in opening up a 6-1 lead. RMU took advantage of a pair of errors by the Mastodons in the first inning, with fifth-year
Taylor Rhinehart coming through with the big hit, a two-run double to left center that scored freshmen
Alaina Koutsogiani and
Anna Resnik. In the second frame, the Colonials did all their damage with two outs. Koutsogiani singled to center before pilfering second. Resnik brought her fellow rookie home with a single to left, senior
Erika Bell collected her first NCAA Division I triple with a shot down the line in right field and sophomore
Charlotte Grover doubled to almost the exact same spot as Bell to help the Colonials open up a five-run advantage.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
The six runs would be all the cushion that RMU starter
Dana Vatakis would need. Despite allowing a two-run home run by Brayden Lickey in the fifth and an RBI single from Thais Uyema in the sixth to close the deficit for Purdue Fort Wayne (7-32 / 6-12 #HLSB) to 6-4, the Colonials improved to 5-1 (.833) in the series opener against Horizon League competition this year with five runs in the sixth. Bell picked up her second RBI of the tilt with a single to right center that scored Koutsogiani for the third time in the contest, while Grover added an RBI single with a laser that was just out of the reach of Lickey at third base. The single scored Resnik, who drew the first of four walks in the inning for the Colonials. Freshman
Bailee Bertani and senior
Brittney Seibert each drove in runs by working walks on a full count with the bags full.
QUOTABLE
"This is the first time all year, not only at home, but all year, we've actually played as scheduled," RMU head coach
Jexx Varner said. "Horizon League is single game Friday, doubleheader on Saturday. We have yet to play that until today. Knock on wood that I didn't jinx anything for tomorrow, but it's great. It's always great being home, but props to the grounds crew for getting (the field) ready and being able to deal with all the weather we've dealt with the past few days."
TOP OF THE MORNING
The top four hitters in the RMU lineup scored 10 of the 11 runs for the Colonials in the series opener as Koutsogiani and Resnik each scored three times. Resnik finished 1-for-2 with three runs, an RBI and a pair of walks, Koutsogiani added a pair of stolen base and Bell and Grover each finished 2-for-4 with two RBI. Thanks to her triple in the second inning, Bell has reached base safely in 19 consecutive games, including each of RMU's 15 contests against conference opposition.
QUOTABLE
"It's always good to get the first win because it's less pressure going into the next day," Bell said. "I think it was really big our offense sparked since we haven't been doing that lately. At this point everyone is relaxed, and it's about keeping the energy up and having fun. We know where we are in the conference in regard to the standings. We're doing what we can to keep the energy alive."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Friday's win marked the fifth time during the 2022 season the Colonials have scored 10 or more runs but the first time in almost a month. RMU last reached double digits in scoring with a 13-7 win in the second game of a doubleheader @ UIC (3/25).
UP NEXT
RMU and Purdue Fort Wayne will play a doubleheader Saturday, April 23, at the North Athletic Complex with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
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