Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU softball team opened a three-game series against Northern Kentucky Saturday, earning a 5-3 victory in nine innings. Originally slated to be a doubleheader Saturday in Highland Heights, Ky., at Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field, the second game of the series was moved to Sunday due to frigid conditions. The Colonials improved to 18-12 (.600) overall, including 7-2 (.778) in the Horizon League, with the win in the series opener.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trailing, 1-0, heading into the top of the fifth, the Colonials grabbed a 3-1 lead off NKU starter Lauryn Hicks. Freshman
Alaina Koutsogiani opened the frame by reaching on an error by Hicks and followed by getting into scoring position by stealing second. Freshman
Anna Resnik capitalized for RMU, singling to right to bring home Koutsogiani with the tying run. Hicks followed by striking out fifth-year
Taylor Rhinehart and getting senior
Erika Bell to pop up to short. Hicks wouldn't survive the frame, however, as sophomore
Charlotte Grover worked a 3-1 count before connecting for her second home run in as many games, a two-run shot to right that pushed RMU in front.
BACK AND FORTH
Northern Kentucky (14-21 / 4-9 #HLSB) answered in the home half of the fifth, plating a pair of runs to knot the score for the second time. Sophie Margelot opened the inning with a walk and two batters later Jenna O'Hair also drew a free pass. The pair moved up 60 feet when RMU starter
Dana Vatakis uncorked a wild pitch, but she looked like she was going to get out of the inning after inducing Kendyl McKeough to ground out to third for the second out. Jordan Jenkins came through for Northern Kentucky, however, singling through the right side to score both Margelot and O'Hair and deadlock the Colonials and Norse, 3-3.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Northern Kentucky looked to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh, but the Colonials got a huge outfield assist from senior
Brittney Seibert to send the game to extra innings. Jenkins drew a walk off Rhinehart with one out and moved to second thanks to a single by Maddie Lacer. Rhinehart was able to get Tatum Biddle to fly out to center, but Olivia Pastin laced a single to right field. Seibert
cleanly fielded the ball and came up throwing, firing a bullet to RMU catcher
Meadow Sacadura. The throw beat pinch runner Kaylee McGinn by three steps for the final out of the frame. Pastin was also robbed of a single to lead off the bottom of the sixth on a diving stab from first baseman
Avery Winchell. Diving to her right,
she popped back up and darted toward the first base bag, diving to secure the first out of the inning.
RINGING THE BELL
For the second consecutive game Bell came up with the big hit for the Colonials, giving RMU a 5-3 lead with a two-run double with two outs in the ninth. Fifth-year
Alaina York opened the inning with a single to center, and Koutsogiani followed with a bunt single. Resnik's sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, and after Madisyn Eads struck out pinch hitter
Catalina Saxen in an at bat that went eight pitches, Bell jumped on the first offering of her at bat, smacking a double to right center to bring home York and Koutsogiani.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Rhinehart improved to 3-0 from the circle for RMU with four innings of work. She allowed four hits and two walks while striking out a pair in relief of Vatakis, who went the first five innings, striking out four. Rhinehart set down the Norse in order in the bottom of the ninth to seal the victory. Resnik, Grover and York each posted a pair of hits for the Colonials, with Grover's roundtripper her fourth home run of the season. Bell's double in the ninth was her seventh of the 2022 campaign, tied with Rhinehart for a team high. RMU improved to 4-1 (.800) this season when going to extra innings and has outscored its opponents, 11-5, from the eighth inning on.
UP NEXT
RMU and Northern Kentucky will conclude its three-game series Sunday with a doubleheader slated to begin at Noon.
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