KENT, Ohio – RMU extended its winning streak to eight games with a dominant 12-4 victory over Kent State, powered by a six-RBI performance from
Courtney Poulich. The Colonials improve to 12-9 on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The offense broke through in the second inning when
Jess Matheny singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a lineout.
Logan Black's infield single put runners on the corners, setting the stage for
Kaylyn Hopf's two-run double to deep center. A walk to
Anna Resnik brought up Poulich, who crushed a three-run homer to left field, giving RMU a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Colonials struck again in the fourth when Hopf and Resnik set the table with back-to-back singles. Poulich continued her big day with a two-run triple off the right field wall, pushing the lead to 7-0.
An inning later,
Alaina Koutsogiani walked, stole second, and came around to score on a wild pitch, making it an 8-0 game.
Kent State avoided the run-rule with two runs in the fifth, but RMU responded in the sixth. Hopf walked and advanced to third on a groundout and wild pitch before Poulich drove her in with a single. Freshman
Mary Brant followed with an RBI double to make it 10-2.
The Golden Flashes again extended the game with two runs in the bottom half, forcing a seventh inning.
RMU closed out the scoring with two more runs in the final frame. Matheny and
Sequoia Dunlap led off with singles and advanced on a wild pitch before
Jaimee Hardy's sacrifice fly brought home Matheny. Freshman
Marta Gualazzi, pinch-hitting for Resnik, reached on an error that allowed Dunlap to score, sealing the 12-4 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The Colonials outhit Kent State 13-3, leaving just five runners on base compared to the Golden Flashes' seven. Hopf scored a team-high three runs, reaching base five times with three hits and two walks, while Poulich and Matheny also recorded multi-hit performances. In the circle,
Kaitlyn Molitoris earned her third win of the season, allowing just two hits and no earned runs over five innings. Hardy closed out the final two frames with one strikeout.
FIVE-RBI CLUB
Poulich's six-RBI game marked the fifth time this season that an RMU player has driven in at least five runs. Poulich and Resnik accomplished the feat against Bucknell (March 1), with Poulich's seven RBIs tying a program record. More recently, Brant drove in five at Green Bay (March 21), while Matheny matched that total against Oakland (March 14).
EXTENDING THE STREAK
RMU's eight-game win streak is its longest since 2013. The Colonials have now hit this milestone seven times in program history, with the all-time record standing at 17 straight wins in 1992.
FROM HEAD COACH JEXX VARNER
"Today was another great team effort. Molitoris threw really well and gave us even more than we planned. Hardy did well in her outing too, and it's great to get these midweek games in and build momentum."
"Offensively, we're hitting the ball hard and staying disciplined. When we have depth like this, we can focus on quality at-bats and trust that the big hit will come. It puts pressure on the other team, and I think we saw that today with our ability to respond immediately when they scored."
UP NEXT
RMU returns to Horizon League play this weekend with a three-game series at IU Indy, set for March 28-29.
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