RIT plated four runs in the third inning and notched 13 hits en route to a 8-0 win in the play-in game against the St. Lawrence University softball team, knocking the Saints out of the Liberty League tournament Thursday morning in Troy, N.Y.
The Saints' final record on the season is 19-15, with a 6-8 record in the conference regular season and an 0-1 record in the conference tournament.
After a scoreless first inning, Maddy Cook kicked the game off with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the second, launching a fly ball that just barely creeped over the wall. RIT proceeded to put two runners on base with one out in the same frame, but Saints starting pitcher
Sofia Berryhill shut the door with back to back strikeouts. That limited the damage to one run.
RIT kept the offense rolling in the third. Elise Guth kicked the inning off with a double to right center field, then Bailey Kehl mimicked her teammate with another double to drive Guth in and make it 2-0. Erin Ozminkowski was next to produce a run, as she brought Kehl around with a two-out single later in the inning to make it 3-0.
Maria Minemier kept the inning alive with a hot shot down the left field line that resulted in an E5, then Kristin Hino and Bella Pioggia had RBI singles in back to back at-bats to make the score 5-0 Tigers after three.
RIT didn't stop there, bringing two more runners around in the fourth to make it 7-0.
The Tigers threatened to score again in the bottom of the fifth inning. After a lineout to start the inning, Hino doubled and Pioggia walked to put two runners on as the Tigers threatened to end the game via the eight-run rule. However,
Caelen Jahnle and
Meredith Rose both came up with gems in the outfield to keep the game rolling.
RIT then put together a two-out rally in the sixth to finish the game up. Cook singled to left field to get the Tigers a baserunner, then Ozminkowski put her in scoring position after the second straight single. Minemaier then ended the game with a line drive to center field, bringing Cook home for an 8-0 lead. That activated the eight-run rule.
Berryhill was charged with just her fifth loss of the season in 15 starts for St. Lawrence, allowing nine hits and seven runs, with five of them earned. She walked one and struck out three.
The Saints mustered four hits of RIT pitcher Jessica Majot, who only walked two and struck out five in a six-inning complete-game shutout. The Tigers now advance to the double elimination phase of the Liberty League tournament, facing top-ranked Rensselaer.
