Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU softball team opened its penultimate road series of the 2023 regular season Saturday, posting a 7-2 victory over IUPUI in Indianapolis, Ind., at the IUPUI Softball Complex. In garnering its third consecutive win, the Colonials improved to 19-18 (.514) overall during the 2023 season, including 9-5 (.643) in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU scored four in the top of the third inning to snap a scoreless contest. Sophomore
Logan Black led off the frame with a walk off IUPUI starter Madison Bryant and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Back at the top of the order, sophomore
Anna Resnik brought home the first run of the game with an RBI single to left center to score Black. That began a stretch in which five consecutive Colonials reached base as RMU opened up a 4-0 advantage. Bryant issued her second free pass of the inning to redshirt sophomore
Meadow Sacadura, junior
Charlotte Grover singled to right to bring home the second run of the inning and senior
Avery Winchell punctuated the rally with a two-run double to center.
THE MIDDLE
The Colonials have had success in recent weeks the second time through the order, and that continued in the fourth inning Saturday against the Jaguars. RMU scored three more times to open up a 7-0 cushion. Grover and Winchell were again in the middle of the rally, as Grover supplied a two-run double to center, while Winchell hit a sacrifice fly that brought home the seventh run of the contest. During the 2023 season for the Colonials, the fourth inning has been the most successful for the offense, as 32 runs have crossed the plate for RMU.
THE DMV
The offense supplying RMU a big lead, fifth-year
Dana Vatakis had no problem making the advantage stand. The Jaguars didn't pick up their first hit of the contest until the bottom of the fourth thanks to a double from Kayla Freiberg. Vatakis shook it off, getting three consecutive groundouts to end the inning, including a comebacker to the circle for the second out that kept Freiberg 60 feet from home. The only mistake Vatakis made was to Freiberg in the sixth, who connected for a home run to center that settled the final score of the contest. In all, Vatakis fired her fifth complete game against a Horizon League foe this season, allowing just three hits, striking out three and not issuing a walk.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The top of the RMU lineup was able to wreak havoc Saturday in helping the Colonials open the series with a victory. The first five hitters safely reached base 11 times, scored five runs and drove in all seven. RMU drew eight walks in the victory, including seven from the first five hitters and three by sophomore
Alaina Koutsogiani. Grover finished 2-for-4 with a run and three RBI in locking up her team-high sixth multi-RBI effort of the season, while Winchell drove in a season-high three runs for RMU.
UP NEXT
The Colonials and Jaguars (12-27 / 8-9 #HLSB) conclude their three-game set Sunday, April 23, with a doubleheader slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. at the IUPUI Softball Complex.
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