Rio Grande Sports Information
    MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande softball team closed out its regular season schedule in grand fashion, extending its winning streak to four straight with a non-conference doubleheader sweep of Mount Vernon Nazarene, Tuesday afternoon, at Cougar Field.
    The RedStorm pulled away over the final three innings to post a 7-3 triumph in the opener and rallied from an early two-run deficit to collect a 4-3 victory in the nightcap.
    Rio Grande improved its overall mark to 23-18 with the two wins, while MVNU fell to 10-23.
    Junior Kaitie Stewart (Pleasant Hill, OH) had three hits and scored three times to lead the RedStorm in the opener, while freshman Maegen Pendleton (Xenia, OH) went 3-for-4 and freshman Haley Gwin (Troy, OH) added two hits and two runs batted in. Freshman Jessi Robinson (Wilmington, OH) also finished with two hits.
    Senior Allison Mills (West Chester, OH) tossed a complete game five-hitter for the win, walking one and striking out four.
    Jennifer Gulley had two hits and Jill Wildermuth had two RBIs for the Cougars. Wildermuth also started and took the loss inside the pitcher's circle.
    Rio took a 3-0 first inning lead on a run-scoring single by Stewart and a two-run triple by Gwin, but MVNU answered with a two-run triple by Wildermuth in the bottom of the inning.
    Robinson extended the RedStorm to 4-2 with an RBI hit in the second, but the Cougars again closed the gap to one thanks to a two-out error.
    Rio finally pulled away down the stretch, scoring once in the fifth inning and twice more in the seventh. Mills had an RBI single in the fifth, while the two seventh inning markers crossed as a result of a passed ball and an error.
    In game two, the Cougars grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third inning thanks to RBI singles by Kara Morrison and Brittney Kuhn before the RedStorm put back-to-back two-run innings together in the fourth and fifth to take the lead for good.
    Junior Katie Fuller (Hamilton, OH) had a two-run triple in the fourth to tie the game, while Pendleton had a go-ahead sacrifice fly and junior Kaylee Walk (Unionville Center, OH) added an RBI bunt single in the fourth.
    MVNU made things interesting in the home half of the seventh when Deanna Dill led off with a triple and scored on a two-out hit by MacKenzie Shaw. Morrison followed with a single to advance Shaw - representing the tying run - into scoring position, but Rio freshman starter Sydney Morris (Cincinnati, OH) struck out Kuhn swinging to seal the win.
    Walk had two of the RedStorm's five hits, while Morris went the distance to get the win. The right-hander allowed eight hits and did not walk a batter, while fanned a career-high nine.
    Shaw, Morrison and Kuhn all had two hits each in a losing cause for the Cougars. Ashley Riffell tossed a complete game in a losing cause.
    Rio opens play in the Mid-South Conference Tournament against Campbellsville on Thursday morning at Millienum Park in Danville, Ky. First pitch is set for 11:30 p.m.
    The fifth-seeded RedStorm split their two regular season games against the No. 4 seed Tigers.