Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU softball team concluded the road portion of its 2022 regular season as well as a three-game series with Oakland Saturday, sweeping a doubleheader from the Golden Grizzlies at the Oakland Softball Field. The Colonials earned a 4-0 victory in the opener before earning another series win with a 5-3 triumph in game two. In snapping a three-game slide, RMU improved to 27-16 (.628) overall during the 2022 campaign, including 16-6 (.727) in the Horizon League.
GAME 1 • W, 4-0
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Colonials ended a scoreless game with three runs in the top of the third, which would be more than starter
Taylor Rhinehart would need. The fifth-year ignited the deciding rally, singling down the line in left field to open the frame. Sophomore
Faith Miller came on to pinch run and after being advanced to second thanks to a sacrifice bunt from senior
Brittney Seibert, freshman
Alaina Koutsogiani drove home the first run of the contest with a single to right, scoring Miller. Fifth-year
Alaina York followed with a single, and after Oakland starter Sydney Campbell was able to strike out senior
Erika Bell, sophomore
Charlotte Grover ripped a two-run double to left center to open up a 3-0 RMU lead.
LORD & TAYLOR
Rhinehart was absolutely impeccable from the circle in her first start since February 11, setting down the first 10 Golden Grizzlies to visit the plate before Cammie Brummitt singled to left with one out in the fourth inning. Unfazed, Rhinehart got Maci Brown to pop up, and after Hannah Chadwell was called to pinch run for Brummitt, she was called out for leaving the base early. Rhinehart faced just one batter over the minimum, with the only other base runner for Oakland coming in the bottom of the sixth, when pinch hitter Allisa DiPrima drew a walk with one out. Rhinehart buckled down, striking out Kayla Gibson and Madison Jones, both swinging, to end the threat.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Rhinehart improved to 4-0 on the season from the circle, striking out five, and has put together one of the more impressive runs in program history. She has logged 32.2 innings against Horizon League foes in 2022, yielding just 17 hits and four walks for a miniscule WHIP of 0.65. She has struck out 26 during that stretch and has yet to allow an earned run. Offensively, RMU banged out 10 hits off Campbell after mustering just three off her less than 24 hours prior. Rhinehart had two of those hits, while Koutsogiani and Grover each finished 2-for-4, with Koutsogiani swiping her league-leading 36th bag of the year.
GAME 2 • W, 5-3
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Tied, 1-1, heading into the top of the fifth, the Colonials struck with two outs. York drew a walk off Mia Konyvka, one of her three times on base in the rubber match, and Bell capitalized, smacking a triple to right field that brought home York to give RMU a 2-1 edge. Bell, who hadn't owned a triple at the NCAA Division I level through her first 373 career at bats as a member of the Colonials, has now posted a trio of triples in her last 27 visits to the dish.
NOW THAT'S PROGRESSIVE
RMU tagged on three more runs in the top of the fifth, with freshman
Bailee Bertani coming through with a two-run double to left center that scored freshman
Anna Resnik and junior
Avery Winchell. Pinch hitter
Catalina Saxen followed with a single down the line in left, which brought home Bertani to help the Colonials open up a 5-1 advantage. RMU entered its series with Oakland hitting just .191 (9-for-47) in pinch-hit situations, but Saxen has excelled in those spots this year, hitting .333 (5-for-15) with a double, home run and eight RBI.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The five runs made a winner out of sophomore starter
Jane Garver, who logged the first four innings of the tilt. She allowed a run on three hits while striking out a pair to win her fourth consecutive decision in improving to 5-2 on the year from the circle. Freshman
Madison DeVault closed out the win with three innings of work and has now worked five innings in the last eight games in relief after not seeing any action from the circle in a month.
BOTTOM LINE
Of the six series that have gone the full three games against Horizon League opposition in 2022, RMU has won five of them, including four consecutive after taking two of three from Oakland (20-13 / 15-5 #HLSB). The Golden Grizzlies, with a .750 winning percentage in the league, remain atop the standings, just percentage points ahead of the Colonials (.727). Cleveland State, at 16-7 (.696) in conference play, sits in third place.
UP NEXT
RMU wraps up its 2022 regular season with a four-game homestand at the North Athletic Complex. The Colonials welcome Pitt Tuesday, May 3, for a 3:00 p.m. single game before Youngstown State visits for a three-game series Friday, May 6, and Saturday, May 7.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | RMU Athletics Gameday App
