Youngstown, Ohio – The RMU softball team saw its magical run in the 2022 Horizon League Tournament come to a close Saturday, falling to No. 1 seed Oakland, 5-4, at YSU Softball Field in the championship game. The Colonials, who finished 4-2 (.667) in six games of the 2022 #HLSB Tournament, conclude the year with an overall record of 31-21 (.596).
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Leading, 4-2, heading into the bottom of the sixth and looking to force an if necessary game 11 of the 2022 Horizon League Championships, Oakland scored three runs behind 2022 Tournament MVP Madison Jones. Shannon Carr ignited the decisive rally by singling to center to lead off the inning, and Reese Ruhlman hit a chopper for an infield single to put two runners on. Jones stepped to the plate and, already 3-for-3 in the contest, ripped a triple down the line in right, scoring Carr and Ruhlman to tie it, 4-4. Cammie Brummitt followed with a liner to left field, and Jones raced home with the go-ahead run, just beating the throw from sophomore
Julia Ehrman.
FIRE STARTER
RMU grabbed a 2-0 lead just four batters into the contest. Freshman
Alaina Koutsogiani reached on an error and after being moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from junior
Avery Winchell, senior
Erika Bell laced a single that caromed off the glove of Jones at third base. Koutsogiani raced around third and scored to give the Colonials a 1-0 advantage. Fifth-year
Taylor Rhinehart followed with a triple to right that scored Bell.
DOCK OF THE BAY
Oakland (26-15) got a run back in the home half of the second thanks to a single from Carr that scored Jessie Munson, but RMU stretched its advantage to 4-1 by plating a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Senior
Brittney Seibert singled through the left side to open the inning and moved to second on another sacrifice bunt from Winchell. Bell stepped to the plate with two outs and was walked on four pitches before being subbed for Ehrman. Rhinehart again came through for the Colonials, drilling a double to right center to score both Seibert and Ehrman. Jones got one of those runs back in the home half of the fifth, leading off the inning with a home run to left. It was part of a 4-for-4 effort for Jones, who garnered 2022 #HLSB Tournament MVP honors after racking up 11 total bases, a championship record.
QUOTABLE
"I'm so incredibly proud of this team, from the players, our coaching and support staff and down to the parents and alums," RMU head coach
Jexx Varner said. "None of this was possible without our seniors with their contributions not only on the field but off, as well. The journey really has been bigger than this week. The leadership of our seniors really set the standard for the success we had this year. The buy-in to developing into a team as well as creating a successful culture has been spearheaded by those six student-athletes, and our future is very bright because of what the objective was for our senior class. They wanted to leave the program better than when they arrived, and they kept us climbing."
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Rhinehart, sophomore
Charlotte Grover and redshirt freshman
Meadow Sacadura each secured spots on the 2022 Horizon League All-Tournament Team. Rhinehart hit .381 (8-for-21) in six games of the tourney, smacking a pair of doubles and two triples to help her rack up 14 total bases while driving in seven. Sacadura finished with a .375 (6-for-16) batting average in six games with two doubles and four RBI, while Grover hit .278 (5-for-18) with three runs, a double, home run and two RBI.
QUOTABLE
"We finished this tournament with a number of underclassmen making significant contributions throughout the week," Varner said. "No matter what role we asked our student-athletes to play during the year, what's impressive is that, whether they were a senior or a freshman, the unselfishness they showed helped us have the opportunity to play in a game like today. Every player had a big moment throughout the course of the season. It may not have ended the way we envisioned it would, but as a staff we know their dedication is only going to get stronger because of what happened here this week."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Rhinehart finished 2-for-3 with three RBI Saturday against the Golden Grizzlies, while Bell reached base each of her three times at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a run, RBI and walk. In six games of the tournament, Bell produced a slash line of .400/.571/.533, scoring three times, driving in a pair and walking six times. Rhinehart also earned a pair of starts from the circle for the Colonials during the 2022 Horizon League Tournament, finishing 1-0 with a 1.75 earned run average (ERA), striking out 11 in 12 innings of work, allowing just seven hits and not issuing a free pass.
SENIOR SALUTE
Bell concludes her career at RMU the "senior" member of the Class of 2022. In 155 career contests, including 143 starting assignments, Bell finished with a .281 (119-for-424) average to go along with 24 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 69 RBI. She also drew 56 walks over the course of the last four seasons, which ranks sixth in program history.
NOTES & NUGGETS
Fifth-year
Alaina York, Grover and Koutsogiani were the only Colonials to start each of RMU's 52 games during the 2022 season … Grover has started each of her 84 career games at Robert Morris and enters the 2023 campaign with career totals of nine home runs and 48 RBI … In her lone season with the Colonials after transferring from Siena as a grad transfer, Rhinehart paced RMU in batting average (.316), hits (50) and total bases (80) while tying for the team lead in home runs (5) with Grover and RBI (31) with Bell … From the circle, Rhinehart made 20 appearances, including five starts, and finished with a perfect 5-0 record to go along with a 1.53 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 64 innings … Koutsogiani concluded her rookie campaign with 38 stolen bases, which already ranks sixth in the RMU career record book.
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