GAMES 15-18
Tennessee Tech Tournament
(Ohio, RMU, Tennessee Tech)
Friday, March 10, 2023 to Saturday, March 11, 2023­
Tech Softball Field • Cookeville, Tenn.
 
Cracker Jack & Sunflower Seeds (Dubble Bubble, Too)
 
- The RMU softball team concludes the regular season portion of tournament action this weekend by traveling to Cookeville, Tenn., for four games. The Colonials will take on Ohio twice as well as the host Golden Eagles twice.
 
- RMU opens play in the Tennessee Tech Tournament Friday with a 10:00 a.m. first pitch against Ohio before taking on the host Golden Eagles at 3:00 p.m. The tourney concludes Saturday with the Colonials again taking on the Bobcats at 10:00 a.m., followed by a 12:30 p.m. first pitch against Tennessee Tech.
 
- The Colonials finished 1-4 (.200) at the T-Mobile Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala., at Rhoads Stadium in their last action on the diamond. RMU opened the classic with a 6-3 win over Mercer (3/3) as fifth-year Dana Vatakis retired 12 consecutive Bears at one point en route to striking out seven in 5.2 innings.
 
- Sophomore Logan Black hit .333 (3-for-9) at the T-Mobile Crimson Classic in five games, including four starts, smacking a double and driving in a pair.
 
- Junior Charlotte Grover started all five games for the Colonials in Tuscaloosa, Ala., hitting .267 (4-for-15) with a run, double and two RBI. Grover owns RMU's active streak for consecutive starts, having been penciled into the starting nine at short each of the last 76 games dating back to 2021.
 
- RMU finished 2-3 (.400) at the Low Country Classic in Charleston, S.C., at the Softball Stadium at Patriots Point. The Colonials fell in their opener to Rutgers before splitting a pair of games with both Syracuse and Charleston.
 
- Sophomore Alaina Koutsogiani led RMU at the Low Country Classic, producing a .308/.500/.462 slash line with three runs, a pair of doubles, two RBI and a 4-for-4 performance on the basepaths. During her career, Koutsogiani has been successful on 91.5 percent (43-for-47) of her attempts to steal.
 
- Sophomore Madison DeVault led the pitching staff at the Low Country Classic, going 1-1 in the circle in three appearances, including a pair of starts. She struck out eight.
 
- In opening its 2023 campaign at the Runnin' Bulldog Classic in Boiling Springs, N.C., RMU posted a 2-2 (.500) record, knocking off Austin Peay (2/10) in its season opener, dropping a pair to George Mason and closing out the tournament with a triumph over host Gardner-Webb (2/11). The final day was canceled due to weather conditions.
 
- RMU returns five starters from a 2022 squad that finished with an overall record of 31-21 (.596), including a mark of 16-9 (.640) in the Horizon League. The Colonials advanced to the championship game of the 2022 #HLSB Tournament in posting its first 30-win season since 2013.
 
- The Colonials are led by head coach Jexx Varner, who is in his fifth season at the helm of the program. He has posted a record of 83-97 (.461) but since joining the Horizon League RMU has notched an overall record of 61-49 (.555), including a mark of 36-23 (.610) in league play.
 
- In a poll of Horizon League head coaches, the Colonials were picked to finish second in the league in 2023. Oakland was tabbed as the favorite and received eight first-place votes in accruing 77 points, while RMU earned a first-place tally and compiled 68 points.
 
- RMU returns five starters from 2022, including its entire infield in Avery Winchell (1B), Anna Resnik (2B), Charlotte Grover (SS) and Alaina Koutsogiani (3B) and catcher Meadow Sacadura. Koutsogiani and Grover started all 52 games last year, while Resnik started 51 of RMU's 52 contests.
 
- The Colonials open the home portion of their 2023 schedule by opening Horizon League play after taking part in the Tennessee Tech Tournament. RMU welcomes Detroit Mercy to the North Athletic Complex for a three-game series Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18.

TENNESSEE TECH TOURNAMENT LINKS
- vs. Ohio (3/10/23) - Video | Live Stats
- @ Tennessee Tech (3/10/23) - Video | Live Stats
- vs. Ohio (3/11/23) - Video | Live Stats
- @ Tennessee Tech (3/11/23) - Video | Live Stats
 
The All-Time Series (Tennessee Tech Tournament) – RMU has never faced the Golden Eagles in program history, while the Colonials and Bobcats have met six times prior to this weekend, splitting those contests. In the last meeting against Ohio, the Bobcats earned an 8-1 win over RMU in Los Angeles, Calif., as part of the Louisville Slugger Invitational (3/9/19). The last victory for the Colonials over Ohio came at the Eakes Athletic Complex in Buies Creek, N.C., as part of the Hampton Inn Invitational (2/18/12), which was hosted by Campbell. In a 1-0 victory RMU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Nicole Sleith (2012-15) allowed just three hits and a walk in a complete game while striking out five. RMU got the only run it would need in the top of the seventh thanks to a solo home run from Tess Apke (2012-15).
 
Scoots – Sophomore Alaina Koutsogiani has gone 5-for-5 in stolen bases over the last two weekends of competition, her first swipes of the 2023 campaign. Koutsogiani, who set an RMU single-season record for stolen bases (38) last year en route to being named to the 2022 All-Horizon League Freshman Team, pushed her career total in stolen bases to 43. That total ranks fourth in the RMU career record book, and she is 16 thefts shy of establishing a new program standard that is currently held by Kelli Miller (1990-93) with 58.
 
Super Grover – Junior Charlotte Grover is RMU's active leader offensively, as she has started each of her 97 games for the Colonials over the last three seasons. She owns a career .250/.338/.408 slash line and has produced career totals of 51 runs, 18 doubles, 10 home runs, 53 RBI and 124 total bases. Named to the 2021 All-Horizon League Freshman Team, Grover finished second for the Colonials as a sophomore last season in multi-hit (9) and multi-RBI (8) efforts.
 
Local Flavor – Of the 20 student-athletes that make up the 2023 roster for RMU, half played their prep ball in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL). That total includes transfer Courtney Poulich, who spent her freshman season at Liberty in 2022 but claimed both WPIAL and Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class AAA championships at Mount Pleasant in 2021. Poulich is one of six student-athletes that played in the WPIAL on RMU's 2023 roster that hail from Westmoreland County.

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