KENT, Oh.– The Robert Morris softball team (13-28, 4-4 NEC) takes a break from conference play to take on the Kent State Golden Flashes (19-20, 8-4 MAC) on Wednesday, April 17th at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The last games for the Colonials were against the Wagner Seahawks, who split their games with the Colonials. The last games for the Golden Flashes was a three games series against the Miami (Oh) Redhawks (23-14, 8-4 MAC), with the Golden Flashes winning the first game but losing the last two games.

Recapping RMU:

In the first game against the Seahawks, both teams scored one run in the second inning. The Colonials kept the momentum going, as they scored three more runs in the third inning. This was followed up with six more runs in the fourth inning. The Colonials ended the game in five innings due to the mercy rule, and the Seahawks helped to Colonials by committing five errors in the game.

In the second game, the Seahawks had the upper hand, with the team scoring three runs in the first inning, while the Colonials only scored one run. The Seahawks overpowered the Colonials pitching, and scored five runs in the third inning, then a total of three runs the last three innings of the game. The game ended in five innings with the Colonials committing two errors in this game.

The star players of the first game for the Colonials were Dana Vatakis and Briana Bunner. Vatakis pitched all five innings with one earned run. She struck out three batters as well. Bunner had a good offensive game, with two hits and two RBIs. Bunner also scored twice herself.

The star players for the Seahawks in the first game were Amelia Van Orman and Alexis Silinonte. Orman had two hits and she crossed the plate as the only run for the Seahawks, and Silinonte was the player who got the only RBI of the game.

In the second game for the Colonials, the star players were Abrielle McCartney and Dana Vatakis. Vatakis pitched three innings and gave up one earned run plus one strikeout. McCartney drove in the only run for the Colonials and was one of the only players to get a hit.

The Seahawks’ star players for the second game were Eve Harvey and Kaila Smith. Harvey pitched all five innings while only allowing one earned run with two strikeouts, then Smith had two hits and two RBIs.

Recapping Kent State:

In the first game for the Golden Flashes, they had the game from the minute the game started. The Golden Flashes scored two runs in the third inning and then one more run in the fifth inning. The Golden Flashes’ arm in the circle for this game, Andrea Scali, only allowed three hits with no runs scored with nine strikeouts. The Brownfield sisters had scored all the runs for the Golden Flashes.

The second game lasted 14 innings, and Miami scored the first run in the third inning then in the fifth inning, Kent State tied it up. The teams went back and forth in scoring in the seventh and eighth inning, and it wasn’t until the 14th inning that the Redhawks scored the winning run.

The last game of the three-game series saw the Redhawks scoring six runs in the first inning and adding on another five runs in the second inning. The Golden Flashes scored a run in the second and then scored two runs in the fourth inning. The Redhawks scored a total of 16 runs this game, run-ruling the Golden Flashes. The Golden Flashes used almost their entire pitching staff for this game and they committed one error this game.

Players to watch:

Natalie Higgins (RMU): Higgins leads the team in batting average with a .302 plus a slugging percentage of .519. She is very experienced in the batter’s box with only 15 strikeouts this season in 106 at-bats. She uses all different ways to score and put her team ahead of the opponents.

Dana Vatakis (RMU): Only a freshman, Vatakis leads the pitching staff in innings pitched with 112 and has the lowest earned run average with a 3.88. She has struck out 49 batters and has been their most consistent arm in the circle this season.

Andrea Scali (KSU): With Scali being redshirted last season due to injury, she had to come back to the circle with a fire in her. She commands the circle with an earned run average of just 2.76 and has struck out 171 batters in 124.1 innings pitched.

Bailey Brownfield (KSU): As a senior, Brownfield has made her presence known at the plate, with a batting average of .336 and a slugging percentage of .509. She is very patient at the plate and uses her at-bats to their full capacity.

Prediction:

I think the Golden Flashes will take both games from the Colonials and leave them needing to regroup heading into their last few games of the season. After this, the Colonials take on the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Saturday, April 20th at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.