GAME 46
No. 3 Northern Kentucky (19-29) vs. No. 2 RMU (24-21)
2023 Horizon League Championships
Thursday, May 11, 2023 • 3:30 p.m. ET
King Park • Green Bay, Wisc.
 
Cracker Jack & Sunflower Seeds (Dubble Bubble, Too)
 
- The RMU softball team begins play in the 2023 Horizon League Championships Thursday with a 3:30 p.m. first pitch against No. 3 seed Northern Kentucky in Green Bay, Wisc., at King Park. The Colonials enter the championships as the No. 2 seed after finishing second in the league standings with a record of 14-8 (.636).
 
- Oakland claimed its second consecutive #HLSB regular-season championship and third overall with a record of 14-7 (.667) in league play. The Golden Grizzlies will play No. 5 seed Green Bay Thursday at 1:00 p.m. in game four of the tournament.
 
- The Colonials swept a three-game series from Cleveland State last weekend to conclude their 2023 regular season. RMU posted a 6-0 victory in the opener before sweeping a doubleheader by the scores of 4-1 and 5-0 at Viking Field in Cleveland, Ohio, to secure the No. 2 seed and a bye.
 
- The three-game sweep of the Vikings helped the Colonials secure their third consecutive winning season. Since joining the Horizon League for the 2021 campaign, RMU has posted an overall record of 80-61 (.567), including a mark of 50-31 (.617) in conference action.
 
- Thanks to the 5-0 win in the series opener @ Cleveland State (5/5), Jexx Varner picked up career victory No. 100 as head coach of the Colonials. He enters the 2023 #HLSB Tournament with a record of 102-110 (.481) as head coach at RMU.
 
- Fifth-year pitcher Dana Vatakis finished 2-0 from the circle against the Vikings, spinning a pair of complete games. She scattered nine hits and walked a pair over the two starts, not allowing an earned run. For her efforts, Vatakis was tabbed the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week (5/8).
 
- Redshirt sophomore Meadow Sacadura hit .364 (4-for-11) at the dish in the three-game series @ Cleveland State, scoring three runs. Junior Charlotte Grover added a .300 (3-for-10) average, also scoring three runs while driving in a pair.
 
- 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 their first 30-win season since 2013.
 
- 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.

- A victory Thursday against the Norse moves RMU to Game 8 of the championships, slated for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch at King Park Friday, May 12. Should Northern Kentucky win, the Colonials will play an elimination game either Thursday at 6:00 p.m. or Friday, May 12, at 1:00 p.m. 

Horizon League Tournament Links
- Live Stats
- Video (Game 5)
- 2023 #HLSB Tournament 
- 2023 Statistics
- RMU Athletics Gameday App 
  
The All-Time Series (Northern Kentucky) – RMU owns a 7-2 (.778) edge in an all-time series with the Norse that began in 2017. The Colonials swept a three-game series from NKU in early April at the North Athletic Complex behind a virtuoso pitching performance from their pitching staff. The trio of fifth-year Dana Vatakis, junior Jane Garver and sophomore Madison DeVault each pitched a complete game shutout, combining to allow just six hits in 21 innings, striking out 25. Vatakis opened the series by firing a one-hitter in a 2-0 triumph, with Garver and DeVault following the next afternoon as the Colonials swept both ends of a doubleheader by the score of 5-0.
 
Postseason Honors – Despite being the only program with an overall record above .500 during the 2023 season at the conclusion of the regular season and finishing second in the Horizon League standings, fifth-year pitcher Dana Vatakis was the lone student-athlete to earn 2023 #HLSB postseason honors in a vote of league head coaches. Vatakis, named to the 2023 All-Horizon League First Team, has posted an overall record of 10-10 from the circle this season with a 2.13 earned run average (ERA) while owning 12 complete games, including six shutouts.
 
The Magic Number – RMU owns a record of 23-4 (.852) during the 2023 season when scoring three or more runs but is just 1-17 (.056) when scoring two runs or less. The lone victory of the year for the Colonials when failing to score three runs is a 2-0 triumph over Northern Kentucky (4/7) to open a three-game series at the North Athletic Complex.
 
The Path Less Traveled – Alaina Koutsogiani completed her journey to the top of the career record books at RMU in just her second season with the Colonials in a 6-0 win @ Cleveland State (5/5). In the top of the first, Koutsogiani drew a walk with two outs and RMU in front, 2-0. She promptly stole second, marking the 59th theft for Koutsogiani since the beginning of the 2022 season and becoming the program's all-time leader in the category. She broke the record of 58 that was held by former outfielder Kelli Miller (1990-93). Koutsogiani, in just 97 career games, now owns RMU single-game (4), single-season (38) and career (60) records for stolen bases at RMU. A look at the top five in program history …
 

Name	Years	SB
1. Alaina Koutsogiani	2022-	60
2. Kelli Miller	1990-93	58
3. Jill Spargo	2004-07	48
4. Ashley Wood	2002-04	43
5. Gwen Leidy	1996-99	42

Did You Know? Junior Charlotte Grover is RMU's active leader in games played (129), starts (129) and consecutive starts (107) entering the 2023 Horizon League Championships. One of three Colonials to start all 45 games this season, joining sophomores Anna Resnik and Alaina Koutsogiani, Grover is RMU's active career leader in runs (74), doubles (22), home runs (12), RBI (73) and total bases (160).
 
Super Sophomores – Redshirt sophomore Meadow Sacadura has reached base safely in each of RMU's last 17 games entering RMU's first game in the 2023 Horizon League Tournament. During that stretch she owns a .348/.474/.370 slash line with 13 runs, 11 walks and seven RBI. Sacadura also owns a .991 fielding percentage with a team-high 107 putouts during that span. Sophomore Alaina Koutsogiani, meanwhile, enters Thursday's game having reached base safely in each of her last 11 contests. Koutsogiani has stuffed the stat sheet during the streak, recording a .296/.500/.593 slash line with three doubles, a triple, home run, five runs scored, six RBI and four stolen bases. The longest stretch of the 2023 season safely reaching base is courtesy of sophomore Anna Resnik, who posted a 19-game streak earlier this year.
 
The Trio – The Colonials have posted a record of 14-7 (.667) since the beginning of April, and a large portion of RMU's success during that stretch has been ignited by the pitching staff. The trio of fifth-year Dana Vatakis, junior Jane Garver and sophomore Madison DeVault have combined for a 1.78 earned run average (ERA) since April 1, logging 112 strikeouts in 145.2 innings while holding opponents to a batting average of .216. Vatakis owns a 1.49 ERA since April Fool's Day (no joke), while DeVault is at 1.73. Garver, meanwhile, is 5-1 from the circle in seven starts during that span and has struck out 39 in 38.2 innings.

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