ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The RIT softball teams split a Liberty League doubleheader with visiting Union, Sunday, bouncing back from a 9-3 opening setback with a 10-4 game-two victory.
GAME 2 – RIT 10, Union 4
- Natalie Barrera (Worcester, MA/Doherty Memorial) went 4-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and three RBI while Alexis Smith (Ronkonkoma, NY/Connetquot) finished 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, a stolen base and two RBI as RIT out-scored Union, 6-0, over the final three innings to clinch the doubleheader split.
- RIT scored three runs in the first inning, including a two-run double by Brooke Seifert (Cheektowaga, NY/Cleveland Hill) after an RBI single by Smith.
- Union tied the game with three runs in the second after loading the bases three times, but RIT re-took a 4-3 lead in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI ground-out by Hannah Trumble (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) that plated Katelyn Koester (Buffalo, NY/Sweet Home). Union re-tied the game, 4-4, in the third on a two-out RBI single by Amanda Granato.
- RIT took the lead for good in the fourth with a run off a two-out, RBI double by Smith, and broke the game open with a four-run fifth, capped by a three-run double to the left field gap by Barrera.
- Brianna Bilich (Penryn, CA/Del Oro) doubled home Smith in the sixth for the Tigers' 10th run of the game.
- Torie Adler (West Chester, PA/B. Reed Henderson) earned the relief victory, holding the Dutchwomen to four hits and one earned run over the final five innings.
GAME 1 – Union 9, RIT 3
- RIT took an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Trumble knocked a one-out single to center field before Barrera brought her around with a double to the center field fence. Smith then plated Barrera with a single to left.
- Union scored two runs on four hits in the top of the second and took a 4-2 lead in the fourth on a two-run triple by Karson Saunders. The Dutchwomen built a 6-2 lead in the sixth with three-straight hits, including a triple by Makayla Koehler followed by a double by Anna Adunczyk.
- Union built a 9-2 lead with a three-run seventh, including a two-run double by Julia Boule, to put the game out of reach.
- RIT's Julia Vaillancourt (Braintree, MA/Braintree) finished the game 3-for-4, including an RBI single in the seventh.
WHAT'S NEXT
RIT is scheduled to host Ithaca for a doubleheader this Wednesday starting at 3:00 p.m.