AKRON, Ohio – The RMU softball team delivered a historic offensive performance in game one of its doubleheader at Akron, erupting for a program-record 27 runs in a 27-7 victory. The Colonials dropped game two, 10-2, to split the series and move to 19-13 overall on the season.
GAME 1: RMU 27, Akron 7
RMU wasted no time setting the tone offensively, as
Kaylyn Hopf led off the game with a single up the middle.
Eloise Facher,
Courtney Poulich and
Aglaia Rudd followed with consecutive walks, with Rudd picking up an RBI to open the scoring.
Moments later, sophomore
Mary Brant broke the game open early, launching her second career grand slam over the center field wall to give the Colonials a 5-0 lead.
Akron responded with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, but RMU quickly extended its advantage.
Sequoia Dunlap lifted a sacrifice fly before Brant came around to score on a Zips error.
In the third inning,
Erynn Thompson doubled to lead off the frame, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on another Akron miscue. After Facher drew a walk and Poulich singled, Rudd blasted her first home run of the day to left field, pushing the lead to 11-2.
Despite Akron adding a run in the bottom half, RMU's offense continued to surge. Thompson and Facher opened the fourth with singles, and Poulich drove in a run with a base hit through the left side. Rudd struck again, crushing a three-run homer to left to extend the lead to 15-3.
The inning kept rolling as Brant reached on an error, Dunlap added an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 17-3.
RMU's relentless attack continued as
Marta Gualazzi singled and
Delaney O'Connor drew a pinch-hit walk before Hopf drove in both runners. After a pitching change, Facher worked yet another walk, and Poulich capped the inning with a three-run home run to right-center, giving RMU a commanding 22-3 lead.
Akron answered with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, but the deficit proved too large.
In the fifth, the Colonials loaded the bases once more. Thompson and Hopf drew back-to-back RBI walks, and Facher followed with a two-run single down the left field line.
Haley Robinson closed out the scoring with a sacrifice fly, sealing the 27-7 run-rule victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- RMU tallied a season-high 22 hits, outhitting Akron by 11, while the Zips committed four errors compared to none by the Colonials.
- Eight different players recorded an RBI, with six posting multi-RBI performances. Rudd led the way with a career-high seven RBIs, while Poulich and Brant each drove in four.
- Eleven Colonials scored at least one run, with Poulich, Facher and Rudd crossing the plate four times apiece. RMU also drew a season-best 11 walks, led by a career-high three from Facher.
- Defensively, Brant recorded two assists, while Alivia Hare picked up her 10th stolen base of the season.
- In the circle, Madison Brown earned her sixth win of the year, striking out two over 3.1 innings. Kaitlyn Molitoris closed out the game, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
GAME 2: Akron 10, RMU 2
Akron struck first with a solo home run, holding a 1-0 lead through two innings.
RMU responded in the third inning. With two outs, Thompson singled, and both Hopf and Facher reached on an error. Poulich delivered a clutch double into the left-center gap, driving in two runs to give the Colonials a 2-1 advantage.
However, momentum quickly shifted as Akron erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the third to take control of the game. The Zips added another run in the fourth and secured the run-rule victory in the fifth.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Akron outhit RMU 13-3 in game two, with both teams committing three errors.
- Poulich led the Colonials with two RBIs, while Hopf and Thompson each scored a run.
- Madelyn Coleman started in the circle, striking out three over 2.1 innings while allowing eight earned runs. Molitoris again provided relief, tossing the final two innings with two strikeouts and one earned run allowed.
POULICH SURPASSES ANOTHER SINGLE-SEASON RECORD
Courtney Poulich continues to rewrite the RMU record book, surpassing her own single-season RBI record of 53 set last year. Through just 32 games, Poulich now has 56 RBIs after driving in six runs on the day at Akron.
The Greensburg, Pa. native now owns 129 career RBIs to go along with 119 hits, 117 runs scored and 40 home runs.
CAREER DAY FOR RUDD
Junior catcher
Aglaia Rudd delivered a career performance in game one, driving in a personal-best seven RBIs. Her total ties the RMU single-game program record, marking just the fourth time in program history a Colonial has reached that mark.
Poulich achieved the feat in 2025, while Olivia Lorusso (2016) and Kali Byers (2005) were the previous players to accomplish it.
TEAM RECORDS
RMU's 27-run outburst set a new single-game program record. It marked the second time this season the Colonials have scored 20 or more runs and the sixth time they have eclipsed 15 runs in a game.
The Colonials also set new single-season program records in both runs scored and RBIs. Surpassing the 1997 team's mark of 293 runs, the 2026 squad now sits at 294 and counting. RMU has also eclipsed last season's RBI total of 258, currently totaling 269 on the year.
UP NEXT
RMU returns to Horizon League play this weekend, hosting IU Indy for a three-game series. Game one is scheduled for Friday, April 17 at 3:00 PM, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, April 18 beginning at 1:00 PM. All three games will stream live on ESPN+.
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