GAMES 30-32
RMU (17-12 / 6-2 #HLSB) @ Northern Kentucky (14-20 / 4-8 #HLSB)
Saturday, April 9, 2022 • 1:00 p.m. (DH)
Sunday, April 10, 2022 • Noon
Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field • Highland Heights, Ky.
 
Cracker Jack & Sunflower Seeds (Dubble Bubble, Too)
 
- The RMU softball team heads back out on the road to continue Horizon League play, visiting Northern Kentucky for a three-game series at Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field. The Colonials and Norse will faceoff in a doubleheader to open the set Saturday, April 9, at 1:00 p.m. before concluding the series Sunday with a first pitch at Noon.
 
- The Colonials sit in third place in the Horizon League standings with a ledger of 6-2 (.750) in conference play, a half game ahead of both Youngstown State and Green Bay, which are each 6-3 (.667). Oakland sits atop the league standings at 6-0, while Cleveland State is in second at 9-3 (.750).
 
- The Vikings took two of three from RMU last weekend at the North Athletic Complex. The Colonials dropped both ends of a double dip to open the series April 2, falling, 6-4, in eight innings in game one before losing a 6-2 decision in the nightcap.
 
- RMU took the final game against Cleveland State (4/3), posting a come-from-behind win, 7-6. In the bottom of the sixth, freshman Alaina Koutsogiani led off the frame with a solo shot to right center to tie it, 6-6, while senior Erika Bell helped lift the Colonials to the triumph with a solo home run of her own to right that pushed RMU on top.
 
- Among Horizon League leaders, RMU enters action this weekend ranked third in the circuit in batting average (.266) and fourth in earned run average (3.87). Youngstown State tops both categories at .271 and 3.20, respectively.
 
- In 17 road games during the 2022 season, fifth-year Taylor Rhinehart is hitting .339 (20-for-59) with nine extra base hits, including nine doubles and three home runs. She also has scored eight runs and driven in 10.
 
- Against #HLSB foes, RMU is tops in the conference in batting average (.351), on-base percentage (.413) and slugging (.552) while also owning league-high marks in runs (62), doubles (21) and RBI (51).
 
- 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.
 
- The Colonials return home to the North Athletic Complex for a 10-game homestand after their three-game series with Northern Kentucky. Non-conference action kicks off the stretch with a 2:00 p.m. doubleheader against Kent State Tuesday, April 12.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY LINKS
- Video (Game One)
- Video (Game Two)
- Video (Game Three)
- Live Stats
- RMU Athletics Gameday App
 
The All-Time Series (Northern Kentucky) – RMU and NKU have squared off twice prior to this weekend's three-game set at Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field. Both games were part of non-conference action and came in consecutive seasons in 2017 and 2018. The Colonials won the first-ever meeting between the two programs, 3-2, in Charleston, S.C., as part of the Holy City Showdown March 11, 2017, while the Norse earned a 6-5 win in Clearwater, Fla., in RMU's second game of the Under Armour Showcase March 9, 2018. In the 3-2 win, the Colonials erased a two-run deficit, with RMU walking it off in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of runs with two outs. Taryn Miller (2017-2020) tied it, 2-2, by scoring on wild pitch before Stacey Capp (2014-17) singled to drive home Jordan Gurganus (2014-17) with the winning run. Gurganus reached on a bunt single after Miller scored on a wild pitch and stole second before Capp's single to center won it for the Colonials.
 
Hells Bells – Senior Erika Bell picked up her sixth multi-effort of the 2022 season in a 7-6 win over Cleveland State (4/3) in the series finale at the North Athletic Complex. She finished 3-for-4 with a run, three RBI, a double and home run and paces RMU so far this season with four games in which she's collected three hits. Bell has also driven in two or more runs five times this year, tops for the Colonials. Bell enters this weekend's series @ Northern Kentucky with 120 career starts in 132 games and having produced a slash line of .283/.366/.402 with 18 doubles, eight home runs and 56 RBI.
 
Slow Start, Fast Finish – In Horizon League games during the 2022 season, the Colonials have been outscored, 16-8, in the first two innings of games but from the sixth inning on have outscored their opponents, 30-13. RMU has outscored league foes, 26-9, in the sixth and seventh innings of contests this year and is a perfect 11-0 overall during the 2022 campaign when leading after six innings.
 
Stranger Things – Lost among RMU's long ball exploits in a 7-6 triumph over Cleveland State (4/3) was that fifth-year Taylor Rhinehart stretched her hitting streak to 11 games with a single down the line in left field in the third inning. Rhinehart enters RMU's series with the Norse hitting .442 (19-for-43) during her surge with five doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI, helping her produce a .767 slugging percentage over the last 11 tilts. The hitting streak for Rhinehart is the longest by a member of the Colonials since former outfielder and current volunteer assistant coach Natalie Higgins (2017-21) hit safely in 11 consecutive games during her sophomore campaign in 2018.

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