YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — Robert Morris kicked off Horizon League Tournament action Wednesday afternoon on Green Bay. The Phoenix won the first-round battle by a 3-1 thanks to a three-run fifth inning which propelled them past the Colonials for the third time this season.

The Colonials’ bats were somewhat silent for most of the game but were able to claim the first lead as Taylor Rhinehart smacked a two-out triple down the right-field line to score Erika Bell from first base.

Jane Garver was in the circle for the Colonials and pitched well through the first four innings but ran into trouble in the fifth inning.

After a throwing error from Charlotte Grover that put Phoenix runners on second and third, Green Bay catcher Samantha Saloun smashed a double into the left-center field gap to give the Phoenix their first lead of the ballgame.

The Phoenix were not done in the top half of the fifth inning, as after Dana Vatakis came in for relief, Jada Justman hit an RBI single to tack on an insurance run to make it a two-run ballgame.

However, Robert Morris did not go down without a fight. After Meadow Sacadura’s second double of the afternoon, Avery Winchell knocked her home off an RBI single to cut the lead in half to just one run in the bottom half of the sixth inning.

But the Colonials ran out of time in the bottom of the seventh inning and quietly ended the game.

The Colonials will be back in action later this afternoon when they take on the loser of the afternoon’s second game between Northern Kentucky and Youngstown State. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.