Day 1 Recap: #RSCSOFTBALL Tournament: Top 3 seeds, CCU advance to Saturday

5/6/2017 12:00:00 AM

VIENNA, W.Va. -- No. 1 seed University of Rio Grande (Ohio) and No. 3 seed IU Southeast are in the winner's bracket final after the completion of the first day of the River States Conference Softball Tournament being held this weekend at Darrell Dotson Sports Complex at Jackson Park in Vienna, W.Va. There were 10 games played Friday with the RedStorm and the Grenadiers the lone unbeatens remaining in the tournament.

The tournament continues with the second and final day Saturday with Rio Grande (43-7) versus IU Southeast (26-19) squaring off in the winner's bracket at 10 a.m. The only other two teams remaining will meet in the loser's bracket Saturday at 10 a.m. with No. 2 Midway (28-17) playing No. 6 Cincinnati Christian (20-17).

The RSC Softball Tournament champion will earn an automatic bid to the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round. Rio Grande is already guaranteed an NAIA bid as RSC regular-season champion. The loser's bracket final will take place Saturday at 12 p.m., and the championship round will begin at 3 p.m. If necessary, a second championship game will be played at 5 p.m.

Game 1 -- No. 1 Rio Grande 9, No. 8 Carlow 0
Top seed Rio Grande made quick work of Carlow with a 9-0 win that ended early after five innings due to the run rule. The RedStorm scored seven times in the bottom of the first on its way to a rout. Kelsey Conkey homered and also tossed a three-hitter for Rio Grande. She struck out four, walked one and went all 5.0 innings. MacKenzie Nichols was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs for Rio Grande, and teammate Gabby Gregg drove in a couple of runs.

Game 2 -- No. 4 Point Park 5, No. 5 WVU Tech 1
Point Park scored in four different innings to steadily build a 4-0 lead over WVU Tech on its way to a first-round win. The steady offense backed pitchers Ashley Iagnemma and Tiffany Edwards, who combined to give up only one run and three hits. Iagnemma got the win pitching the first 5.0 innings. Jess Beitler had two big RBIs for the Pioneers, and teammate Alyssa McMurtrie smashed a key homer.

Game 3 -- No. 3 IU Southeast 6, No. 6 Cincinnati Christian 5
IU Southeast scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead and then held off CCU the rest of the way for the 6-5 win. CCU went ahead, 5-3, with a five-run rally in the fourth inning. Emily Hollis drove in two runs for the Grenadiers, and Emily Gray came up with two of IU Southeast's five hits. Three IUS pitchers combined on the victory with Emily Weiss starting, Gray getting the win in relief and Becca Schoenung picking up the save. CCU threatened in the seventh with the go-ahead run at second with two outs, but the Grenadiers pulled off a trick play for the final out.

Game 4 -- No. 2 Midway 12, No. 7 Brescia 2 (5)
Midway put up 10 runs in the bottom of the first to set up a blowout win over Brescia. The game ended after five innings due to the run rule. The Eagles tallied 13 hits in their four times at bat with Carly Benz leading the way at 3 for 4 with a triple. Kelsey Gravens was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. Midway used three pitchers, who combined to give up just three hits. Midway starter Tiffany Wickline worked 3.0 innings for the win.

Game 5 -- No. 5 WVU Tech 4, No. 8 Carlow 1 (Carlow Eliminated)
WVU Tech out-hit Carlow, 10-5, and built a 4-0 lead after two innings in an elimination-game victory over Carlow. Karina Atanacio was 4 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs for the Golden Bears. Genna Trippett went 2 for 2 with a double. Winning pitcher Mackenzie Wilson allowed just one run on five hits in a complete game. Kenzie Young recorded two of Carlow's hits.

Game 6 -- No. 6 Cincinnati Christian 9, No. 7 Brescia 1 (5) (Brescia Eliminated)
Cincinnati Christian turned a 2-1 game into a mercy-rule game as the Eagles scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to end it on the run rule. The Eagles survived their first loser's bracket test with a total of 13 hits. Aleesha Rodriguez led the CCU offense going 3 for 3 with two doubles. Stroking two hits apiece were Morgan Grose, Valerie Hudepohl and Kelsey Warman. Courtney Garrett pitched a complete game of 6.0 innings with one strikeout and two hits allowed.

Game 7 -- No. 1 Rio Grande 7, No. 4 Point Park 4
Kelsey Conkey homered twice and drove in five of Rio Grande's seven runs in the winner's bracket win over Point Park. Conkey's three-run shot gave the RedStorm a 4-0 lead after one inning. Point Park cut it to 5-2, but Conkey went deep again. Tayler Arndt was 2 for 3 with an RBI for Rio Grande. Jess Beitler hit two home runs to keep the Pioneers in it. Point Park managed three hits versus winning pitcher Jenna Jones, who went all 7.0 innings with three strikeouts and three walks. Ashley Iagnemma took the loss in a complete game.

Game 8 -- No. 3 IU Southeast 7, No. 2 Midway 0
IU Southeast had a strong showing in its winner's bracket win over Midway, a 7-0 shutout. The Grenadiers put together a big inning of six runs in the third and had a combined shutout posted by pitchers Emily Weiss (5.1 IP) and Becca Schoenung (1.2 IP). IU Southeast hit up and down the lineup with its 11 hits shared by nine different players. Kyndyl Olds and Emily Hollis had two hits each. Tiffany Wickline threw all 7.0 innings for Midway, which had just three hits on offense.

Game 9 -- No. 2 Midway 6, No. 5 WVU Tech 4 (WVU Tech Eliminated)
Midway scored the last six runs of the game to rally past WVU Tech in an elimination game on Friday night. WVU Tech struck for all four of its runs in the top of the first, but Midway responded with three in the bottom half. Midway broke a 4-4 tie in the fith with a solo homer from Katelynn Mogelberg-Kaufmann and an RBI double from Lynsie Clark. Tiffany Wickline shook off the four-run first to go the distance for Midway. She got the win by blanking WVU Tech the rest of the way. WVU Tech used three pitchers and had three of its five hits in the first inning for the early offense.

Game 10 -- No. 6 Cincinnati Christian 10, No. 4 Point Park 1 (6) (Point Park Eliminated)
Cincinnati Christian took control early, built on the lead and eventually eliminated Point Park in six innings, 10-1. CCU had its 10 runs come on 10 hits, and six of the runs came in the second inning for a 6-1 lead. Alexis Rouse led the attack for CCU going 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Valerie Hudephohl and Michayla Barga had two hits each. The teams combined for seven errors with four costly ones by Point Park leading to eight unearned runs. Winning pitcher Jessica Tinsley went the distance, scatterred six hits and struck out two.