MOON TOWNSHIP– The Robert Morris softball team (11-26, 3-3 NEC ) takes on the Youngstown State Penguins (16-19, 5-2 Horizon League) on Wednesday, April 10th at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The Colonials last took on the Niagara Purple Eagles (5-22, 3-5 MAAC), with the two teams splitting the doubleheader. The last games for the Penguins were a three-game series against the Detroit Mercy Titans (15-21), where the Penguins lost two of the three games to the Titans.

Recapping RMU:

In the first game against the Red Flash, in the second inning, both teams scored two runs. In the third inning, the Red Flash pulled ahead by three runs. The Colonials battled back by scoring one run in the fourth, and two runs in the sixth. In the end, the Red Flash got the upper-hand when they scored one run in the bottom of the sixth inning to win the game with a final score of 6-5.

In the second game, the Colonials got the bats going in the second inning as they scored seven runs, which forced Red Flash pitcher Meadow Uncapher out of the game after only pitching 1.2 innings. The Colonials continued their scoring in the sixth and seventh innings when they scored two runs in the sixth, plus three more runs in the seventh inning. The Red Flash only scored in the first, fourth, and sixth inning, the team was only able to score four runs this game.

The star players for the Colonials for the first game were Taylor Bartlow and Brittney Seibert. Bartlow had two hits and 1 RBI, and Seibert added three hits with four RBIs. In the second game, the star players for the Colonials were Natalie Higgins and Taylor Bartlow. Higgins had four hits and four RBIs, and Bartlow had two hits and four RBIs.

The star players for the Red Flash in the first game were Sierra McKee and Christina Clark. Clark pitched all seven innings and only have up four earned runs, plus she had five strikeouts. McKee helped the offense by getting two hits and three RBIs. In the second game for the Red Flash, the star players were Mekenzie Sadan and Mikayla Bower. Both Sadan and Bower had one hit with two RBIs.

Recapping YSU:

In the first game, the Titans didn’t even give the Penguins a chance to score. The Titans, however, got to scoring early in the game. They scored three runs in the first inning, and the team would add one more run in the third and the fourth inning.

In the second game against the Titans, the scoring didn’t happen until the fourth inning when the Penguins got one run. In the fifth inning, the Titans tied it up as they also scored one run. In the sixth inning, the Penguins swung the bat very well and scored four runs to take the lead and take the game away from the Titans.

In the third and final game of this series, the Titans remained a strong defensive front, not letting the Penguins score. The Titans scored one run in the second inning and another run in the fifth inning. The star players for the Penguins in the first game were Paige Geanangel and Milena Lacatena. Geanangel pitched 3.2 innings, only allowing one run to cross the plate and striking out two batters. Lacatena had one of only two hits for the Penguins during this game.

The star players for the Penguins in the second game were Milena Lacatena and Paige Geanangel. On the offensive side, Lacatena had one hit with four RBIs and on the defensive side, Geanangel pitched all seven innings, only allowing two earned runs to score. Geanangel also had eight strikeouts.

The star players for the Titans in the first game were Ashley Mauser and Kori Keyes. Mauser pitched all seven innings with no runs scored, and she had seven strikeouts. Keyes had one hit with two RBIs, then was walked to kick start the offense. The star player for the Titans in the second game was Taryn Peru who had a hit, plus one RBI.

Players to watch:

Abrielle McCartney (RMU): McCartney has been consistently getting on base and hitting runners in for the Colonials. She is disciplined at the plate, only being struck out 12 times this season, and she hasn’t struck out in the last seven games. On the defensive side, she is almost perfect with having made only two errors this season.

Natalie Higgins (RMU): Higgins leads the team in batting average with a .302 mark, and has six home runs on the season. She comes in clutch for the Colonials, with hits to get runners across the plate, but she also is very patient at the plate. She has been walked six times and has been hit by a pitch once.

Lexi Zappitelli (YSU): As a senior, Zappitelli is very productive at the plate, with a batting average of .302 and a slugging percentage of .396. In 96 at-bats she has struck out 15 times. In the field, she is even more valuable in that she has only made three errors this season.

Abby Jarvis (YSU): Jarvis has the lowest earned run average out of the entire staff with 2.85 and she leads the staff in innings pitched with 105.2. Even though this is her first year in collegiate play, she has shown that she is a force to go up against.

Prediction:

I think the Penguins will take both games against the Colonials, but the score will be close. After the doubleheader against Youngstown State, the next game for the Colonials will be against the Wagner Seahawks on Saturday, April 13th at 1 p.m and 3 p.m.