University of Rio Grande announces RedStorm nips Tech, suffers walk-off loss to SMWC

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The University of Rio Grande finds itself on the brink of elimination after dividing a pair of games on Friday afternoon in the 2023 River States Conference Softball Championship at Little Creek Park.
     The RedStorm, the league's East Division champion and the tourney's overall No. 2 seed, held on for a 3-2 win over West Virginia University-Tech in their opening contest before suffering a gut-wrenching 4-3 walk-off loss to St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in the winner's bracket final of the six-team, double-elimination bracket.
     Rio Grande finished the day at 35-17 and will face Indiana University Southeast, the league's regular season champion and the tournament's overall No. 1 seed, in the loser's bracket final on Saturday at 10 a.m.
     The Rio-IUS winner would then have to defeat St. Mary-of-the-Woods twice to claim the tourney title and the automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round that comes with it.
     The championship first final is slated for 1 p.m., with a second final - if needed - to take place 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first title tilt.
     Indiana University Southeast has already claimed the league's other automatic bid to the national tourney as the regular season champion, meaning that SMWC will go the national tournament as well - regardless of what happens in the championship - if IUS eliminates Rio Grande.
     The RedStorm's only path to extending its string of consecutive national tournament appearances would be three wins on Saturday.
     Friday's opening game win over WVU-Tech saw Rio score all of its runs in the third inning - all after the first two batters in the frame had been retired by Tech starter Emma Crisswell.
     Junior Caitlyn Brisker (Oak Hill, OH) singled to left-center, which prompted WVU-Tech head coach Amber Atha to lift Crisswell in favor of Courtney Miles, whose complete game two-hit shutout of Midway in Thursday's opening round put the Golden Bears in the winner's bracket.
     Miles promptly walked freshman Gabby Adams (Grove City, OH) before fellow frosh Madison Perry (Portsmouth, OH) singled to left to score Brisker with the game's first run. Sophomore Peyton Young (Mt. Orab, OH) followed with a two-run double to left-center to extend the lead to 3-0.
     The Golden Bears mounted a two-out rally of their own in the fifth inning when consecutive singles by Mackenzie Siersma, Nicole Kester and Hailea Skeens sliced the deficit to 3-2.
     Tech got no closer, though, as Rio Grande junior starter Sydney Campolo (New Lexington, OH) retired the side in order in each of the final two innings, including striking out the side in the seventh to seal the victory.
     Campolo allowed just four hits and a walk, while striking out six in a complete game effort.
     Freshman Kayla Sedgwick (Richwood, OH) added a double in the winning effort for the RedStorm.
     Kester had two hits in the loss for the Golden Bears.
     In the winner's bracket final against St. Mary-of-the-Woods, it was a pinch-hit single by Jazmine Kinzer in the bottom of the seventh inning which scored pinch-runner Abbi Henderson from second base and capped a two-out rally which sent the Pomeroys into Saturday's championship.
     Young gave Rio Grande a 1-0 lead in the fourth with an RBI single, but SMWC tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Lyric Krause and took the lead in the fifth on a run-scoring squeeze bunt by Rylee Pender.
     The RedStorm tied the game again in the sixth inning on a fielder's choice grounder to shortstop by junior Lexi Carnahan (Felicity, OH), but the Pomeroys regained the lead in the bottom of the frame thanks to a sacrifice fly by Jaleigh Crawford.
     The pendelum swung back in favor of the RedStorm - albeit briefly - when a two-out, two-strike single to left by Brisker in the top of the seventh plated Sedgwick with the tying run.
     However, the Pomeroys countered with their game-winning rally in the bottom of the inning.
     After the first two batters were retired routinely, Mikayla Mills singled to right and Henderson was summoned off the bench to run. Pender followed with an apparent inning-ending popup to the middle of the infield, but Brisker was unable to reach around Henderson - who was standing on the second base bag - and the ball fell untouched for an infield hit.
     Kinzer came on to pinch-hit and delivered the game-winning hit to left-center, as Henderson beat the throw home.
     Young finished 2-for-3 for Rio Grande, while Adams also had two hits - including a double - in a losing cause.
     Junior Kali Brickman (Huber Heights, OH) suffered the hard-luck loss for the RedStorm, allowing six hits and the four runs - three of which were earned - in a complete game effort.
     Summer Rocha earned the win in relief, allowing three hits and two runs - one earned - over the final two innings.
     Crawford also tripled in the win for the Pomeroys. 

Original source can be found here.