Rio Grande softball stuns No. 7 Tigers
Rio Grande/USC-Beaufort Sports Information
HARDEEVILLE, S.C. — Fourth-seeded University of Rio Grande rallied for three runs with two outs in the seventh inning and stunned top-seeded Campbellsville University, 4-3, in the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round's USC-Beaufort Bracket, Monday afternoon, at the Richard Gray Sports Complex.
The RedStorm improved to 32-14 with the win and advanced to Tuesday's 11 a.m. winner's bracket final against regional host and No. 2 seed USC-Beaufort, which edged third-seeded Indiana Wesleyan University, 1-0, in Monday's opening game.
Tuesday's winner advances to the regional title game on Wednesday at noon and would have to be beaten twice. The second championship final, if necessary, would be played Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Campbellsville, which was ranked No. 7 in the latest NAIA coaches' poll, slipped to 34-9 with the loss. The Tigers will meet Indiana Wesleyan in an elimination game on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
The Campbellsville-IWU winner will then face the Rio-USCB loser in another elimination contest on Tuesday, at 5 p.m.
Rio Grande's win was just the ninth in 48 tries by a No. 4 seed since the tourney adopted its Opening Round format of 10, four-team regional sites in 2013.
Campbellsville's No. 7 ranking also represents the highest-ranked opponent beaten by a Rio Grande team in the program's history.
Rio Grande rattled off five consecutive hits with two outs in the final frame against Mid-South Conference Pitcher of the Year Victoria Decker, with freshman Tayler Arndt's (Clyde, OH) two-run single tying the game and junior Ariel Roder's (Parma Heights, OH) RBI single plating the go-ahead run.
Each team scored a run in the first before Campbellsville broke on top, 3-1, thanks to back-to-back run-scoring singles in the second inning off the bats of Rebecca Miller and Brianna Scott.
The Tigers had numerous chances to break the game open, but stranded 11 runners as Rio Grande sophomore starter Jenna Jones (15-6) repeatedly worked out of jams.
Jones scattered seven hits in a complete game effort, but walked four and hit three batters to help fuel the Tigers' scoring chances. Campbellsville left the bases loaded in the second, third and sixth innings and stranded 11 runners altogether.
Arndt went 2-for-4 with three RBI, while sophomore Brittany Walk finished 3-for-4 and senior Jessi Robinson (Wilmington, OH) added two hits in the winning effort for Rio Grande.
Mid-South Conference Freshman of the Year Jacqueline Roof was 2-for-3 and scored twice for Campbellsville, the MSC regular season champion, while Miller added two hits and an RBI in a losing cause.
Decker, who allowed more than three runs in an outing for just the third time this season, suffered just her fourth loss in 22 decisions. She allowed a season-high 11 hits, while walking one and striking out three.
Live video and play-by-play of Tuesday's action involving Rio Grande will be available at www.team1sports.com/redstorm beginning 10 minutes prior to each game.