Rio Grande Sports Information
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The University of Rio Grande knew it was in for a long day if it hoped to claim another River States Conference Softball Tournament title and a berth to the upcoming NAIA National Championship.
The RedStorm staved off elimination with a win in the loser's bracket final to begin the day and forced a winner-take-all second championship final in the double-elimination tourney with a second victory as morning became afternoon.
But, as things turned out, the third time didn't prove to be a charm.
Head coach Chris Hammond's squad, simply, ran out of gas.
Indiana University Southeast rallied from a five-run first inning deficit by outscoring Rio Grande 14-1 over the next four innings and posting a 14-6 mercy rule-shortened victory over the RedStorm in Saturday's title game at Little Creek Park.
The fourth-seeded Grenadiers improved to 29-21 with the win - their third in seven meetings with the RedStorm this season and second in tournament play - while punching their ticket to the national tourney in the process.
Rio Grande, the No. 3 seed in the six-team bracket, finished its season at 37-19.
The RedStorm bolted to a 5-0 first inning lead when sophomore Emily Lane (Charlotte, NC) sandwiched a three-run triple around run-scoring singles by junior Kendyl Moss (Cincinnati, OH) and sophomore Lindzie Runions (Poca, WV).
Southeast countered with six runs in the second inning to take the lead and, after Rio tied the game in the bottom of the frame thanks to a fielder's choice grounder off the bat of freshman Macy Kise (Milford Center, OH), the Grenadiers added eight unanswered runs to bring the game to a premature end.
Grace Stapleton led the Grenadiers' 18-hit attack by going 4-for-4 with a run batted in, while Kaitlyn Leister was 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and five RBI and Savannah Gaither finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
Sofia Guy added a pair of doubles and three RBI to the winning effort, while McKenzie Walters and Alaina Winzeler had two hits each.
Hallie Foley earned the win in relief for IUS, allowing just two hits and a run over 4-1/3 innings.
Senior Meg McCallum (Belmont, Ontario, Canada), who earned both wins earlier in the day for Rio Grande, started and took the loss. She allowed 12 hits and 11 runs over 3-1/3 innings.
Moss finished with two hits in the loss for the RedStorm.
Rio Grande began the day with a 4-3 win over Indiana University Columbus in the loser's bracket final.
The RedStorm rallied from a 1-0 deficit by scoring twice in both the fourth and fifth innings and surviving a two-run rally by the Crimson Pride in the seventh inning.
Three of the four Rio runs scored via sacrifice flies - by sophomore Delana Landefeld (Williamsport, OH) in the fourth and by Lane and Runions in the fifth. The other marker crossed when junior Nigella Reck (Covington, OH) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.
Linnea Baldner had three hits and Mallory Shelton doubled in the loss for IUC.
Destiny Forler started and lost for the Crimson Pride, allowing two hits, four walks and two runs over 3-1/3 innings.
McCallum scattered seven hits and four walks in a complete game effort for Rio Grande.
The victory set up what turned out to be a 5-1 win for the RedStorm over IU Southeast in the championship first final.
Rio scored twice in the first and once in the second to grab a lead it would never relinquish.
The RedStorm closed out the triumph with single markers in both the sixth and seventh innings.
McCallum had an RBI single and senior Natalie Bates (Vandalia, OH) drew a bases-loaded walk to account for the two first inning runs, while Reck had a run-scoring double in the second.
Landefeld and Moss added RBI singles in the sixth and seventh inning, respectively.
Landefeld finished 3-for-4 with a double, while Reck was also 3-for-4 with a pair of two-base hits.
Winzeler and Josie Lemmons had two hits each in the loss for the Grenadiers, while Guy drove in a run.
McCallum allowed seven hits in a complete game effort for the win.
Emma Davis started and lost for IUS, allowing 10 hits in her own complete game effort.
