Rio Grande Sports Information
HENDERSON, Ky. - Brescia University's softball team finally solved the mystery of the University of the Rio Grande, but the Bearcats failed to take advantage of the opportunity to get greedy.
After suffering a gut-wrenching extra inning loss in game one, the RedStorm salvaged a 4-1 triumph in the nightcap for a split of their River States Conference doubleheader, Friday afternoon, at the Deaconess Henderson Sportsplex.
Rio Grande finished the day at 8-7 overall and 1-1 in the RSC with the split.
Brescia, which won the front end of the twinbill, 2-1 in 16 innings, closed the day at 4-8 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
Friday's opening game was the longest contest for any Rio Grande team since a 2-1, 14-inning win over Indiana University Southeast on April 3, 2017.
It was also the second-longest game innings-wise in Rio program history - topped only by a 3-2 win in 18 innings against Cedarville University on April 29, 2003.
The 16-inning win also marked the first time that Brescia has ever beaten the RedStorm.
The Bearcats grabbed a 1-0 first inning lead after Emma Kate Elrod's single to right field and a subsequent throwing error, but Rio tied the game in the third inning on an RBI hit by freshman Brynlyn Denny (Jackson, OH) and that's the way things stayed for the longest time.
Both teams - Brescia, in particular - had scoring chances in the innings that followed.
Rio Grande stranded runners in scoring postion in the 5th, 12th and 14th innings.
The Bearcats had runners at first and second with one out in the sixth, at first and second with two outs in the ninth and at first and third with one out in the 10th without managing the go-ahead score or game-winner.
Brescia also left runners in scoring position in the 11th, 12th and 14th innings and left the bases loaded in the 15th before scoring the winning marker in the 16th.
Addy Harris opened the inning with a single up the middle and a sacrifice bunt by Madison McDaniel moved pinch-runner Addison Cartas.
Harris went back in to run for herself and advanced to third on a lineout to right field before Elrod delivered a walk-off single to left.
Sophomores Lindzie Runions (Poca, WV) and Emily Lane (Charlotte, NC) had three hits each for Rio Grande in the loss, while Denny and senior Meg McCallum (Belmont, Ontario, Canada) both had two hits apiece. Lane's hit total included a double.
McCallum took the loss in the pitcher's circle, allowing 17 hits and two runs - only one of which was earned - over 15-2/3 innings.
Emmie Bullington also went the distance for Brescia to earn the win. She allowed 12 hits and a walk while striking out eight and threw 189 pitches over 16 innings.
Elrod finished 4-for-8 at the plate, while Bullington tallied three hits and the trio of Harris, McDaniel and Felicity Cunningham all had two hits each.
Brescia also took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap, but Rio tied the game in the second, took the lead with two runs in the fifth and added an insurance run in the seventh.
Junior Kendyl Moss (Cincinnati, OH) had the game-tying hit in the second, while senior Natalie Bates (Vandalia, OH) clubbed a go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth and freshman Macy Kise (Milford Center, OH) had an RBI double in the seventh.
Bates was 3-for-3 in the win and junior Nigella Reck (Covington, OH) finished 3-for-4 with a double. Kise and McCallum had two hits each.
Kise also got the win in the pitcher's circle, scattering four hits and a walk while striking out five and allowing the unearned run.
Cunningham started and lost for Brescia, allowing nine hits and three runs over 4-1/3 innings.
Kaitlyn Bradbury had two hits in the loss for BU.
Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Saturday at noon when it battles Indiana University Columbus in a doubleheader at Columbus East High School.
