Rio Grande wins two over Asbury in KIAC Softball Games of the Week
(By Rio Grande Sports Information)
RIO GRANDE, Ohio - A late surge in game one and a quick start in game two propelled the University of Rio Grande to a pair of 8-2 victories over Asbury University, Saturday afternoon, at a chilly, windswept Rio Softball Park.
The twinbill was designated as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's Games of the Week.
Rio Grande improved to 22-6 overall and 9-1 in the KIAC with the sweep, maintaining a one-game lead over Indiana University-Southeast for the top spot in the league standings in the process.
Asbury finished the day at 12-18 overall and 2-4 in league play.
Jenna Jones earned her 10th win in as many decisions in the opening game, allowing just three hits and a pair of unearned runs in a complete game effort. She walked one and struck out five.
The two unearned runs came in the third inning and allowed the Eagles to erase an early 2-0 deficit, but the RedStorm scored six unanswered runs - three in the fourth inning, two in the fifth and one in the sixth - to win going away.
Gabby Gregg and Tayler Arndt both went 3-for-4 with a run batted in, while Kelsey Conkey had two hits, including a double, to go along with two RBI and a pair of runs scored.
Carly Skeese and Alex Kuhn both finished 2-for-3 with an RBI in the winning effort. Both of Skeese's hits were doubles.
Rio Grande finished with 15 as a team, but five Asbury errors made five of the eight runs unearned.
Summer Ratliff started and took the loss for the Eagles, while Jordan Manthei went 2-for-3 with an RBI and AnnaBeth Hill had a double in a losing cause.
Asbury grabbed a 1-0 in the first inning of game two thanks to a two-out, run-scoring single by Rio Grande transfer Tisha Lane, but RedStorm countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning and four markers in the second and never looked back.
Arndt had an RBI double and Skeese followed with a run-scoring single in the first inning rally, while Gregg clubbed a three-run home run to highlight the four-run fourth.
Rio's final two runs came in the fourth inning on a two-run home run by Ariel Roder - her team-best sixth circuit clout of the season.
Brittany Walk went 3-for-4, including an RBI double in the second inning, while Gregg went 2-for-2 with three runs batted in to finish the weekend - which also included a doubleheader sweep of Midway University on Friday - 12-for-14 with a double, a triple, a home run, eight RBI and five runs scored.
Arndt, Roder and Skeese all finished with two hits in the victory.
Conkey, like Jones in the opener, earned her 10th win of the season in the circle, allowing nine hits and a walk while striking out six in a complete game effort.
Kylee Gorby had two hits, including a triple, for Asbury, while Kateland Hunter hit her team-leading sixth home run of the season in the sixth inning for the Eagles.
Kendall Anderson also had two hits in a losing cause for AU, while Ratliff again suffered the loss in the circle.
Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Wednesday at former Mid-South Conference rival - and No. 5-ranked Campbellsville University.
Asbury is slated to host Kentucky Christian University on Tuesday.