University of Rio Grande announces RedStorm rolls in sweep of Ohio Christian

RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande used one big inning in each game to pull away and sweep its River States Conference doubleheader with Ohio Christian University, Thursday afternoon, at Rio Softball Park.
     The RedStorm posted a 9-1 mercy rule-shortened win in the opener, while notching a 9-2 triumph in the nightcap.
     Rio Grande improved to 32-16 overall and 20-8 in conference play with the wins, clinching the RSC's East Division championship in the process.
     The division title also secured a first round bye for the RedStorm in next week's RSC Championship at Little Creek Park in South Charleston, W.Va.
     Head coach Chris Hammond's club will face an opponent still to be determined on Friday, May 5, at noon.
     Ohio Christian slipped to 19-25 overall and 9-19 in the RSC with the losses and saw its post-season hopes take a major hit with the sweep.
     The Trailblazers entered the twin bill tied with Carlow University, one game behind West Virginia University-Tech for the third and final qualifying spot for the tourney out of the East Division.
     In Thursday's opener, Rio Grande broke a scoreless tie with five third inning runs and then added two more markers in each of the next two innings to invoke the eight-run mercy rule.
     Junior Caitlyn Brisker (Oak Hill, OH) went 4-for-4 with a triple, three runs scored and a run batted in, while junior Lexi Carnahan (Felicity, OH) was 2-for-3 with two RBI and freshman Madison Perry (Portsmouth, OH) drove in three runs.
     Senior Christen Risner (Wheelersburg, OH) tripled and drove in a run, freshman Gabby Adams (Grove City, OH) had a double and a run batted in and freshman Kayla Sedgwick (Richwood, OH) had a triple of her own for the RedStorm.
     Junior Sydney Campolo (New Lexington, OH) allowed two hits and an unearned run, while walking one and fanning five in a complete game effort.
     Hilarie Spitler started and lost for OCU, allowing 10 hits, four walks and seven runs over four innings.
     Kylee Bako drove in the Trailblazers' lone run.
     In game two, Rio Grande enjoyed a 2-1 lead before scoring four times in the home fourth and twice in the fifth to pull away.
     Adams had two hits and two RBI in the win, while Perry and Carnahan both had two hits and a run batted in.
     Sedgwick and Brisker both added two hits each in the winning effort.
     Junior Kali Brickman (Huber Heights, OH) went the distance in the circle for the RedStorm, allowing seven hits and a walk in a complete game effort.
     Kristin Gardner started and lost for the Trailblazers, allowing 10 hits and eight runs - four earned - over 4-1/3 innings.
     Roxianne Herdman was 2-for-3 with a run batted in for Ohio Christian, while Marissa Bardanaro had two hits of her own, including a double, and Kadance Fraley doubled.
     Rio Grande concludes its regular season schedule on Saturday when it hosts Carlow for Senior Day.
     First pitch for game one is set for 1 p.m. 

Original source can be found here.