YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The RMU softball team split its opening day of the Horizon League Championship on Wednesday, falling to No. 6 Detroit Mercy before bouncing back with a 7-3 elimination game victory over Oakland to advance to day two of the tournament. The Colonials now sit at 28-17 overall.
Detroit Mercy handed RMU a 7-5 loss in the opening game of the tournament before the Colonials responded with an offensive explosion against Oakland, totaling 13 hits and four home runs to keep their postseason run alive.
GAME 1: Detroit Mercy 7, RMU 5
After a scoreless opening inning, Detroit Mercy struck first in the second with an unearned run before adding to its lead in the third on a two-run homer by Trinnity Fessler.
The Titans continued to build momentum in the fourth as Savannah Schultz launched a two-run home run to put Detroit Mercy ahead 5-0.
RMU got on the board in the bottom half of the inning when
Alivia Hare drove in
Eloise Facher with an RBI single for the Colonials' first run of the tournament.
The Colonials stormed back in the fifth inning.
Kaylyn Hopf opened the frame with a triple and later scored on an RBI single from Facher.
Courtney Poulich was then hit by a pitch before
Aglaia Rudd ripped a two-run double into the left-center gap to cut the deficit to one.
Mary Brant then tied the game with an RBI double, capping off a four-run inning and evening the score at 5-5.
However, Detroit Mercy regained the lead in the top of the seventh with two more unearned runs. Poulich drew a leadoff walk in the bottom half, but the Titans closed the door to secure the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Detroit Mercy outhit RMU 9-7 while committing no errors. The Colonials finished with two errors.
- Hopf and Facher each recorded two hits while Facher scored twice. Rudd led RMU with two RBIs.
- Madelyn Coleman started in the circle and tossed four innings with two strikeouts while allowing four earned runs. Kaitlyn Molitoris worked the final three innings, striking out one and allowing no earned runs despite taking the loss.
GAME 2: RMU 7, Oakland 3
The Colonials wasted no time jumping in front during the elimination game as Facher launched a solo home run to center field in the opening inning for a 1-0 lead.
Facher struck again in the third with her second solo shot of the game and 12th homer of the season. Shortly after, Brant crushed a two-run homer to extend the lead to 4-0.
RMU continued to pile on offensively as Hare singled before
Sequoia Dunlap delivered an RBI double into right-center field, pushing the advantage to 5-0.
Brant added another long ball in the fourth inning, blasting her second homer of the game and 15th of the season to extend the Colonials' lead.
Oakland managed three runs in the fifth inning, but Molitoris entered in relief and shut the door over the final three frames to help RMU survive and advance with a 7-3 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- RMU outhit Oakland 13-11 while both teams committed two errors.
- Brant, Facher and Rudd each tallied three hits and scored twice. Brant drove in a team-high four runs.
- Coleman earned her ninth victory of the season after allowing three runs over four innings. Molitoris picked up her second save of the year with two strikeouts across the final three innings.
- RMU surpassed 500 hits as a team this season.
MULTI-HR GAMES
Facher and Brant each recorded their first multi-home run performances of the season in the win over Oakland. The two performances marked the 11th and 12th multi-homer games by a Colonial this season. RMU has now totaled 91 home runs during the 2026 campaign.
UP NEXT
No. 1 Youngstown State and No. 5 Green Bay will open play Thursday at 12:00 PM, followed by No. 2 Northern Kentucky and No. 6 Detroit Mercy.
RMU will face the lowest remaining seed that loses between those two contests in another elimination game at 5:00 PM. The Colonials could potentially face Northern Kentucky, Green Bay or Detroit Mercy. All Horizon League Championship games will stream live on ESPN+.
