Softball Splits on Day Two at The Spring Games

LEESBURG, Fla. – The Rivier softball team fell to St. Vincent 5-3 in the first game of the day but bounced back to grab a 3-2 win over Elizabethtown on a walk-off at The Spring Games on Tuesday afternoon.

The Raiders are now 3-1 on the season.  

Rivier will head back to Leesburg, Fla. on Thursday, March 7 to take on Heidelberg and Bluffton at the Sleepy Hollow Complex.  

St. Vincent 5, Rivier 3 

St. Vincent scored early in the first generated by a triple to center field. The Bearcats put up two more runs in the third and one in the fourth to lead the Raiders 5-0.  

Riv cracked open the score in the fifth from Kyleigh Burtsell's ground out to short, scoring Christina Panagiotopoulos. A sacrifice fly to right hit by Hayley Rapaglia allowed Olivia Couto to score the Raiders' second run of the contest. Avry Nelson singled to center, sending Panagiotopoulos home.  

Panagiotopoulos collected two triples in the outing. Nelson also recorded a triple on the day.

Rivier and St. Vincent totaled eight hits apiece.

First year Hayleigh Silva got her first collegiate start on the mound, seeing two innings for the Raiders. Rapaglia received her first couple of innings of the year, striking out one batter. Courtney Marioles came in to close the game, pitching to four batters.

Rivier 3, Elizabethtown 2 

The Blue Jays would score first on a two-RBI single up the middle in the top of the second.

In the bottom of the third, Christina Panagiotopoulos singled through the middle, pushing Sophia Quinlan home to make it a one-run game.

Still trailing by one in the bottom of the sixth, Amanda Atkinson crossed the plate on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-2.

Olivia Couto walked-off on a bomb to right-center, sending Hayleigh Silva home to score the winning run.

Elizabethtown totaled nine hits on the day, while Riv recorded five.

Hailey Berube started for the Raiders and earned five strikeouts. Courtney Marioles was tagged with the win seeing three innings.