The University of Rhode Island softball team got swept by Saint Joseph’s University to drop to 3-6 on the season and extend its losing streak to four games.
After the last two games on Rhody’s schedule got canceled, URI was back on the field for its first Atlantic 10 Conference series of the season. St. Joe’s was picked fourth in the A-10 preseason poll, while URI was picked eighth.
The Rams were rolling to start the first game on Saturday as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings. Fourth-year Becca Zawistowski doubled in the first inning to open up the scoring and make it 1-0. Third-year Rayah Snyder singled in the second to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Hawks soared back to tie in the bottom of the third, scoring two unearned runs. Rhody reclaimed the lead at the top of the fourth thanks to a sacrifice fly from second-year Julianne Torres.
That was the last time Rhode Island had a lead in the entire series. Third-year Julia Shearer had a two-run RBI single in the fifth inning to make it 4-3 St. Joe’s. First-year Grace Brown and fourth-year Jenna Currie gave the Hawks insurance runs in the sixth inning when each of them hit solo shots to make the score 6-3, which finished as the final score.
“We’ve only been outside eight days since January 20,” URI Head Coach Mike Coutts said. “So that is an effect of why you don’t get a chance to play to the level you want to play at early in the season.”
In the second game of the doubleheader, St. Joe’s exploded for a five-run second inning, capped off by a three-run home run from third-year Kayley York. St. Joe’s knocked fourth-year pitcher Ashley Hibbard out of the game after just 1.2 innings pitched.
The Hawks dominated the entire game. They held URI to just two hits and tacked on another run in the fourth inning and two more in the sixth to run-rule the Rams in just six innings and pick up an 8-0 victory.
“We definitely lacked on the hitting side,” Hibbard said. “Hitting is so situational, it’s kind of based on luck sometimes, and things didn’t go our way this weekend, but we’re not getting down on ourselves.”
On Sunday, the Rams were looking to avoid the sweep, but their bats never woke up. Rhody only recorded four hits and was shut out for the second straight game, and fell by a score of 7-0 as St. Joe’s completed the series sweep.
“We’ve got to find a way to score some runs,” Coutts said. “It’s hard to pitch when you feel like you’ve got to go out and throw a shutout in order to have a chance to win.”
The Rams will look to bounce back this weekend with a three-game series against St. Bonaventure University. The series was originally scheduled to be played at URI, but due to insufficient field conditions, it was moved to Providence College.
