The Rams were unable to make a comeback in Sunday’s finale, despite a late three-run rally. PHOTO CREDIT: Connor Zisk
The University of Rhode Island and Dayton University softball teams faced off over the weekend, with the first place Flyers defeating the Rams in all three games to complete the weekend sweep of the series.
The first place Flyers came to Kingston looking to extend their conference lead and cool down the red-hot Rams who had won five of their last six matches.
The first two matches were on Saturday, a doubleheader to lead off the weekend. The first four innings of game one were relatively even, as both teams could not get a run across. Flyers first-year pitcher Izzy Kemp kept the Rams offense at bay as she has all year.
Kemp leads the Atlantic 10 (A-10) in earned run average (ERA) with a low 1.35, while holding opposing batters to a .163 batting average against her. Rams fourth-year pitcher Liz Lynchard held the Flyers to no runs through four as well.
In the fifth inning, the Flyers offense exploded for five runs to take the lead. The Flyers loaded the bases early in the inning and second-year Emma Schutter singled to score fourth-year Quinn Pallardy to take the 1-0 lead. After the Schutter single, Dayton continued to get hits and jumped out to a 5-0 lead when third-year Taylor Erschen singled to score fifth-year infielder Alyssa Cacini.
With the Rams trailing 5-1, they attempted to rally in the bottom of the fifth inning as fourth-year Rachel Zingerman doubled off the center field wall to score second-year third baseman Emily Power. The Rams could not muster any more runs in the inning, as Zingerman was stranded on second base.
The Rams would allow two more runs as well in the top of the sixth inning, to fall to a 7-1 deficit, as the Dayton offense had found their groove.
Rhody fell 7-1 in the first matchup of Saturday’s doubleheader and looked to turn the page and move on to game two, but not before some senior day activities. The seniors were honored with posters and honored by their teammates and staff before taking a photo together. Each senior was also accompanied by family members to walk them through a row of their teammates where they received hugs and gifts from the coaches.
Head Coach Whitney Goldstien shared a few words about how the seniors have helped lead the team in her first two years here at URI.
“They’ve been a really really special group,” Goldstein said. “As we gained that trust amongst each other there’s been a real loyalty between the coaches and them and they have been great leaders, they’ve bought in.”
Fourth-year Cassie Swenson is a large part of this Rams team and was honored during the senior day event. She commented post game on what it was like to be a part of this group.
“My class is a special class,” Swenson said. “Coming in, we knew that there were a lot of us and we were going to have different roles. Just as the years went on we all grew, we all blossomed in special ways.”
Coming off the fun event of senior day, the Rams looked to get their offense going and try to win the second game of the series. The Flyers struck first though, as in the top of the third inning, Schutter scored after fourth-year catcher Nicolette Papavasiliou singled to right field.
This 1-0 lead held until the sixth inning, when the Rams fought back and got a run of their own. Fourth-year Kaitlin O’Leary scored second-year Leilyn Alvarez on a fielder’s choice ground out to the shortstop, after Alvarez led off the inning with a triple. The game was tied 1-1 in a pitcher’s duel between the two second-year pitchers, Rhode Island’s Katie Zaun and Dayton’s Haven Dwyer.
However, in the top of the seventh inning, the Flyers offense would add on more runs as Cacini singled to drive in fourth-year Emily Daniel. This was the first of four runs the Flyers would score in the inning, enough to beat the Rams in the second game by a score of 5-1.
Goldstien complimented Dayton post game and the way they responded after Rhody got a run back.
“They have great pitching, they’re very well coached,” Goldstein said. “They play the game the right way.”
On Sunday, with the Flyers already having taken the first two games of the series, URI was looking to get a win at home. The first two innings started like the previous games, with no runs by either team. The scoring started in the top of the third inning as Dayton scored two when Schutter singled to score Daniel and second-year Maddie Kapsimalis drove in Schutter quickly after that.
The Flyers jumped out to this 2-0 which they had until the sixth inning, when their offense burst out with a five spot. The scoring started with Pallardy driving in first-year infielder Molly Grace to extend the lead to 3-0. Later, Dayton scored three more times and the Rams allowed a single to right field from Kapsimalis to get through, scoring Daniel to make it 7-0. The Rams ended up stopping the bleeding eventually, but the damage was done.
In the bottom half of the inning, Rhode Island attempted to rally. First-year Annabeth Carlberg doubled to left center field to drive in two runs, fifth-year Elena Gonzalez and fourth-year Skyler Rapuano, to make the score 7-2. O’Leary then drove in Carlberg with a fielder’s choice ground out to cut the Flyers lead to only four, leading 7-3. With no one on base, the Rams could not muster up any more runs as they fell to Dayton 7-3.
Rhode Island fell to Dayton in all three games of the series over the weekend and their record fell to 6-8 in the A-10, fifth place in the conference. The Rams will face off against third place Loyola Chicago in Illinois over the weekend and are looking to get back in the win column.