RedStorm upends IU-Southeast for softball crown
By RANDY PAYTON
Rio Grande Sports Information
DANVILLE, Ky. - The University of Rio Grande bolted to a four-run lead and then held on down the stretch for a 5-4 win over Indiana University-Southeast in the championship game of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Softball Tournament, Friday afternoon, at Millenium Park.
Rio Grande, which advanced to the title game by virtue of another 5-4 win over the Grenadiers earlier in the day, improved to 31-14 with the victory and ran its winning streak to six straight since dropping all four games of its final regular season conference series at IU-Southeast on April 17-18.
The win also gave the third-seeded RedStorm the KIAC's automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament, which begins at 10 regional sites across the country on Monday, May 11. It will mark the just the second all-time appearance in the national tourney in program history.
IU-Southeast, the league's regular season champion and the tourney's top seed, slipped to 29-7 and had a streak of three consecutive KIAC tournament titles snapped.
The Grenadiers, who received votes in last week's Top 25 balloting, must now await to see if they receive an at-large bid to the national tourney. The selections will be announced by the NAIA national office on Thursday, May 7, at 6 p.m. EDT.
Alex Kuhn had a two-run single, while Kim Rollins and Tayler Arndt added RBI hits off of KIAC Pitcher of the Year Jessica Leanhart in the Rio Grande first inning, which was aided at the outset by a pair of IU-Southeast errors.
The Grenadiers got one of the runs back in the fourth inning on a two-out single by Leanhart, but Rio pushed its lead back to four runs, 5-1, when Rollins led off the fifth with a home run - her eighth of the year and second of the day.
IU-Southeast made things interesting, though, with a pair of runs in the home fifth thanks to an RBI hit by Alyssa Price and error by the RedStorm and a two-out, run-scoring single in the sixth by Katelyn Heines to pull within 5-4.
The Grenadiers put the would-be tying run on when Delaney Arnold led off the seventh with a single, but Rio Grande starter Jenna Jones rebounded with a strikeout of Montanah Rogers and induced Morgan Klosterman to bounce into a game-ending double-play.
Rollins finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Brittany Walk had two hits and Kuhn had two RBI. Jones limited IU-S to just six hits and two earned runs in a complete game effort, improving to 14-6 in the process.
Leanhart also went the distance in a losing cause for the Grenadiers, allowing eight hits and three earned runs while striking out seven. She also accounted for the only multi-hit day for IU-S, going 2-for-3 at the plate.
In Friday's other action:
Carlow 4, Brescia 3--Allison Hyradil's two-run single in the first inning gave the Celtics an early lead and her two-run single in the seventh inning plated important insurance markers in an elimination triumph over the Bearcats.
After Hyradil's two-out hit in the seventh pushed the Carlow lead to 4-1, Brescia's Allie Michel clubbed a one-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to slice the deficit back to one run.
Carlow starter Emily Pritts rebounded, though, routinely retiring each of the next two batters to seal the victory.
Like Hyradil, Pritts and Nicole George had two hits each in the win for the Celtics. Pritts allowed seven hits and walked five, while striking out four in a complete game effort inside the pitcher's circle.
Shelby Franklin went the distance in the loss for the Bearcats, allowing nine hits and a pair of walks while striking out two.
Michel had two hits and drove in all three runs for Brescia (15-13), while Lauren Rodgers also finished 2-for-3.
Rio Grande 5, IU-Southeast 4--Kim Rollins and Ariel Roder cracked solo home runs to help stake Rio to a four-run lead and the RedStorm held on for a 5-4 win in the winner's bracket final and earned a spot in the tourney's title game.
Rio Grande grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Jessi Robinson led off with a double, was bunted to third by teammate Brittany Walk and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cheyenne Hamaker.
Rollins hit a two-out home run in the fourth inning and Roder hit the first pitch thrown by IU-S starter Jessica Leanhart to make it 3-0, but the Grenadiers answered in the home half of the fifth when Cadie Povaleri reached on a two-out walk and rode home on a double to center by Delaney Arnold to make it 3-1.
The RedStorm scored twice more in the sixth inning thanks to a throwing error and an RBI single by Tayler Arndt, but IU-Southeast answered again with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning on two-out RBI hits by Brookelyn Visker and Montanah Rogers to slice the deficit to 5-3.
The Grenadiers drew even closer in their final at bat when Arnold doubled with one out, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a Leanhart infield single. Leanhart advanced into scoring position on groundout by Morgan Klosterman, but Rio Grande starter Jenna Jones fanned Alyssa Price for the game's final out.
Rollins was the only Rio player with more than one hit, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Jones allowed seven hits and two walks, while striking out seven in a complete game outing.
Arnold was 2-for-3 at the plate and was the only Grenadier batter with more than one hit. Leanhart took the loss, allowing seven hits and a walk while fanning eight in a route-going performance.
IU-Southeast 10, Carlow 1 (5 innings)--The Grenadiers scored five times in the first inning and added four more markers in the fifth for a mercy rule-shortened win over the Celtics in the loser's bracket final.
Cadie Povaleri homered, doubled and drove in five runs for IU-Southeast, while Shelby Lucas and Katelyn Heines both went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI in the winning effort.
Lauren Klosterman also had two hits and two runs scored for the Grenadiers, while Alyssa Price doubled and starting pitcher Caroline Cato allowed just two hits over five innings.
Nicole George accounted for Carlow's lone run with a solo home run in the second inning.
Nicole Hall started and lasted just one inning for the Celtics (22-14), allowing seven hits and five earned runs.