Through long travel and their home opener, the University of Rhode Island softball team won their series with St. Bonaventure University before falling to Providence College on Wednesday afternoon.
Beginning their week with a spontaneous schedule change due to inclement weather, the Rams trekked up to Olean, New York to take on the Bonnies on their home turf. The game ended after only six innings of play with the Rams up 11-2.
“I think I’m definitely the type of coach that wants to position my team in the best way possible in terms of never taking an opportunity away from them,” Head Coach Whitney Goldstein said. “I felt [that] in a situation where I know conference games are important, I’m the type that feels I can play them anywhere and as long as financially that works out, I felt that it was advantageous of us to travel there instead of lose the three games.”
The first win of the weekend began as a rough start for Rhody, with St. Bonaventure’s fifth-year Olivia Moon connecting on a home run in the top of the first inning. However, after the initial blow, it was all Rhode Island, as they scored 11 unanswered runs.
After fifth-year Elena Gonzalez’s single resulted in a run batted in in the first inning and second-year Kylie Bulinski got an RBI double in the third, a wild pitch in the fifth brought third-year Leilyn Alvarez across for the go-ahead run and the first lead of the day for the Rams.
Bulinski had a productive week at the plate, collecting a hit in all four contests. She went 3-4 in the final two contests of the week, including a home run against Providence.
“I’ve been feeling really good,” Bulinski said. “[I’ve had] a different mindset that I’ve had since the beginning of the season. Now it’s conference play, everything that happened previously doesn’t matter.”
With nine of Rhode Island’s 11 runs coming in the fifth and sixth frames, third-year Emily Power shined. Power’s two RBIs in back-to-back innings boosted the Rams over the Bonnies in the first game of the weekend.
“[Powers] has worked really hard over her three years with us so far to just really become more of a consistent hitter,” Goldstein said. “We’ve asked her to do a lot of changes mechanically, just to be able to hit any type of ball she wants in situations… I think she has done a really good job…I don’t see too many third basemen out there that are better than her.”
After the Rams’ initial triumph, they fell in the second game of the series 5-4. The game was knotted in a 0-0 tie until the fourth inning when first-year Kylie Bickert and fourth-year Brooke Bobbey of St. Bonaventure each drove in a run to take a 2-0 lead.
Rhode Island swiftly tied it in the bottom half of the fourth when Gonzalez drove in two runs on a single and another two-run RBI in sixth from fifth-year Sydney Yoder gave Rhody a 4-2 lead.
However, three straight runs from the Bonnies in the seventh tied the weekend series at one game apiece.
The third game saw Rhody end the series early, clinching an 8-0 win in just five innings. A four-run third inning buoyed the Rams in the contest, with Bulinski, fifth-year Cassie Swenson and Power each driving in a run. It was Bulinski once again knocking in the final run during the fifth frame before the game concluded early.
“It was really nice to see a lot of the things that we had been pounding into them,” Goldstein said. “Whether it’s being able to hit ground balls in certain situations or being able to get bunts down or sac-flies or just advancing runners in moments where maybe in the beginning of the year those things are still being worked out. It was really nice to be seeing those opportunities and seeing people be selfless for the greater good of the team.”
In the finale of this past week’s contests, a late rally from the Rams fell short in an 8-7 loss to their in-state rival, Providence College. The high-scoring affair featured six combined home runs from the two opposing lineups, and despite one from the Rams in the final inning, the Friars survived down to the final out.
After keeping the Friars off the board for the first three innings and taking a 3-0 lead, a barrage of scoring from the Friars saw Providence score all eight of their runs between the fourth and sixth innings.
Down 8-4 in the final inning, Rhode Island’s offense ignited with three runs, highlighted by a two-run home run from Gonzalez. However, the Friars forced a pop-up to third for the final out and escaped with a win in the mid-week contest.
The Rams are back in action this coming weekend when they travel to Philadelphia to take on Saint Joseph’s University. First pitch is set for Friday at noon and can be streamed on ESPN+.