The University of Rhode Island softball team collected their first home win of the season on Tuesday afternoon when they took down the Bryant University Bulldogs 5-0.
The victory marked the first time the Rams shut out a non-conference opponent since the University of Maine back on April 10, 2023, in an 8-0, five-inning contest.
Third-year pitcher Katie Zaun’s three allowed hits in seven innings of work created the foundation for Rhode Island’s offense to shine through their third-year third baseman Emily Power. Power drove in all five runs for the Rams in the contest, the first coming as a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning and the remaining four stemming from a sixth-inning grand slam.
“I’m seeing the ball pretty well,” Power said. “I’m very calm, I’ve just changed my mindset from last year to this year, I would think a lot in the box [last year]. This year [I am] just trusting my hands, trusting what I’ve done, the work I’ve put in and just going up there and just ‘see ball, hit ball.’”
Power’s trust in herself has paid dividends for the infielder this season. Her batting average of .319 leads the team and is the best mark of her career.
“[Power] is a kid who has bought into everything that we’ve been teaching since day one and it’s really starting to show for her,” URI Assistant Coach Tori Constantin said. “She has stuck with the process as long as she has been here and it’s really starting to show this year… She has a lot to be proud of, she has put in a ton of work. She is a hard, hard worker and I’m really happy that this is paying off for her.”
The defensive play for the Rams was buoyed heavily by fifth-year shortstop Cassie Swenson, who had a record-breaking outing in the mid-week win. Swenson’s four assists in the contest placed her in first place all time in program history with 308 in her career, passing Courtney Pendergast, who played for the Rams from 2009-2013.
“[Swenson has] been awesome,” Constantin said. “She is locked in right now and she has been such a great leader for this program since we’ve been here. She has just done a really tremendous job of buying into the philosophies and everything… She’s a great role model for the younger kids.”
While the Rams ended the week on a high note, they were still swept through the weekend by Saint Joseph’s University in a three game series by scores of 7-4, 11-4 and 8-5. The series dropped Rhode Island down to an Atlantic 10 record of 3-6 and into ninth place in the standings.
“I think our offense did a really good job this weekend,” Constantin said. “I do feel that we didn’t play our best defensive games this weekend and I do feel that it contributed kind of to the weekend that we had, but again we are still trying to piece all of the parts of the game together right now and I feel like we did a really good job of that today and it showed.”
Rhode Island’s defensive struggles served as the Achilles’ heel for the Rams in the series, as they allowed one inning of at least five runs in every single contest. On top of that, they allowed the Hawks to knock out 29 hits in just three games.
However, Power is confident that the Rams can get the ship back on track this weekend when they return to A-10 play.
“It’s A-10 conference play so they are very important games,” Power said. “I feel like when our pitching works together, our defense and pitching work together and our offense works together, that is when we kind of shine and win games. So if that happens, and we just show up and have heart and play as a team then I think good things will happen.”
Power and the Rams will host Loyola University Chicago in a three game series this weekend with the first pitch coming at noon from the URI Softball Complex on Saturday. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.