The University of Rhode Island softball team opened its season with a 3-2 win over Marist University on Friday in walk-off fashion, thanks to an RBI-single from third-year Riley Frickleton.
While Frickleton was the hero this past weekend for the Rams, she missed all of last season due to an injury. She didn’t waste any time getting back into the swing of things.
Frickleton was named a captain this season and is a big bat to have back in the lineup for Rhode Island.
URI struggled as a team in Frickleton’s first year. The Rams went 15-37 overall and went 10-16 in Atlantic 10 Conference play. Despite the rough season, Frickleton was a bright spot for URI and showed that she could be an impact player for the team.
After Frickleton was sidelined all of last season, she has come back with an appreciation for what this season will bring.
“I really just take it one play, one pitch, one at-bat at a time,” Frickleton said. “One big thing for me this week was just really believing in myself and pushing myself because I didn’t play at all last year.”
Out of the four captains on the team this year, Frickleton is the only one who isn’t a senior. URI Softball Head Coach Mike Coutts has high praise for Frickleton on and off the field.
“I think, like all good players, she’s open to learning,” Coutts said. “She understands that she has certain things she has to do to get better. She’s always talking to the coaches about her approach at the plate.”
After the walk-off win, Rhody dropped their next two games. The Rams lost a tightly contested game to East Texas A&M University in extra innings and then lost to Missouri State University to drop to 1-2 on the year.
“We’ve got to learn one about ourselves as a team,” Coutts said. “Then we’ve got to learn individually… Those types of things, if we have an open mind and want to learn when we get to A-10’s, it’s going to help us.”
Frickleton will look to keep her hot start to the season going in the Georgia Southern GATA Challenge this weekend.
