YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Catalina Saxen's 2-run homer in the first inning gave RMU the spark they needed, as the Colonials defeated Youngstown State, 3-1 in the Horizon League Championship. RMU advances to the semifinal tomorrow and will play No. 3 Cleveland State.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In the top of the first inning, the Colonials got on base early as
Kaylyn Hopf earned a walk and
Anna Resnik moved her forward to second base off a sacrifice bunt.
- On a 2-2 count, Saxen blasted a home run to deep left field, giving RMU a 2-0 lead.
- Up until the fourth inning, neither team scored more runs.
- YSU registered a run in the fourth, making it a 2-1 score. Hopf made a tremendous diving catch in left field that helped disallow the Penguins from adding on any more runs.
- In the sixth inning,
Jess Matheny extended the Colonials lead to 3-1, hitting a sacrifice fly to deep left field that brought in
Avery Winchell.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Both teams recorded four hits on the day. The Colonials also picked up four walks on the day compared to YSU's, two. Leading the offense, Saxen registered two RBI with her second home run of 2024. She's now up to 19 runs batted in this season. Starting in the circle, senior
Jane Garver went for four innings and earned her sixth win of the season and first career playoff win. Junior
Madison DeVault finished out the final three innings for RMU. She paced for three strikeouts and earned her team-leading sixth save of the year.
HORIZON LEAGUE HISTORY
Since joining the Horizon League in 2021, this is the first time RMU has opened the tournament with two straight wins.
HEAD COACH JEXX VARNER
"We are extremely proud of our team today. Again, we came out hot and played intentional. Garver was fantastic again and DeVault shut it down at the end. Our defense made some really excellent plays in tight spots. The add-on run was big as Matheny had a wonderful at-bat and delivered for us. All around, we're doing the little things to be successful in big moments."
UP NEXT
RMU will play No. 3 Cleveland State tomorrow at a time to be announced. With a win the Colonials will clinch a spot in the championship game.
