Softball ends losing streak at Hatter Classic

Heading into Sunday with a six-game losing streak, the Rams ended it with a 4-0 shutout against Stetson. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com

The University of Rhode Island Softball team closed out their five-game stretch at the Hatter Classic this weekend with a win on Sunday, going 1-4 and snapping their six-game losing streak to move to 3-7 on the season.

“Everything, as I’ll continue to say, is going to be a process in order to get the program in a direction where there [is] consistent winning,” URI Head Coach Whitney Goldstein said. “That’s going to take some time, so I think right now we continue to just be in the process and make every part of our game better.”

The Rams opened the first two games of their Florida road stretch Friday against Marist and Harvard. Game 1 did not go well for the Rams, as they trailed 8-1 at the end of the fifth inning before the Red Foxes sealed a 11-5 victory with 3-run sixth inning.

In the second game of the afternoon, Harvard had an early 5-2 advantage midway through the fourth inning. Rhody quickly caught up, scoring three runs over the next two innings to tie the game at five apiece. The Crimson ultimately held control the rest of the way, scoring six unanswered runs to win the game 11-5.

The Rams endured a similar fate in their third and closest game of the weekend Saturday. After finding themselves down 8-1 midway through the sixth inning in their rematch against Marist, Rhody picked up five straight runs at the end of the sixth to make it 8-6. 

Despite the comeback attempt, the Red Foxes picked up another run in the seventh, which made a difference in their 9-8 win over the Rams.

Even with these close losses, Goldstein believes that being able to stay competitive in close matchups will help her team in the long run.

“It’s just a mindset of continuing to keep them confident and know that they can play any opponent on any given day,” she said. “It’s just really creating a foundation of knowing how to win and knowing how to push through those moments of adversity to keep the energy and the positive outcome on our side.”

Rhody closed out the Hatter Classic with two straight matchups against Stetson. After a 7-0 defeat Saturday afternoon that saw the Rams collect just five hits, they responded on Sunday with a 4-0 shutout of their own.

Sunday’s scoring started right away, with two of the team’s first four runs coming in the first inning. Susan Harisson hit an RBI single to send Sami Villarreal to home plate, which was soon followed up by a walk that sent Ari Castillo home with the bases loaded.

The Rams put the game away in the sixth inning, when a Hatter error led to runs by both Maddie Melice and Skyler Rapuano to extend the lead to four. The Rams held on the rest of the way.

 Rhody got a huge boost from the mound in their win off the arm of Liz Lynchard. The junior pitcher put up one of her best performances, recording eight strikeouts and posting her first full-game shutout. After a slow start to the season, Lynchard says this win helped her get “back on track.”

“One thing that you really have to take into your own hands is how you handle yourself on the mound,” she said. “I’ve really gained confidence in myself, and having a coaching staff and team that’s behind me, that trusts in me, helps with that.” 

The Rams will stay in Florida for their next slate of games, as they are set to participate in the Spring Games from Friday to Sunday. Still in the early stages of the season, Goldstein hopes to use these games to create an identity and to establish a strong future for the program.

“I just want to see their daily growth,” she said. “If we can get them to grow, to learn the game better, we’re laying a foundation for many years to come.”

This weekend’s action will start against Long Island University at 11 a.m. on Friday. The game can be streamed on FloSoftball.