Softball Takes One Against Keene St.

RINGE, N.H. – The Rivier softball team split a non-conference doubleheader with Keene St. on Tuesday evening at the Melissa Bisaccia Memorial Softball Complex.

With the results, the Raiders now hold a 6-10 record. The Owls sit at 9-5 overall.

The Raiders return to the diamond for their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener against Anna Maria on Saturday, April 5. First pitch is scheduled for noon at the AMCAT Softball Field.

Rivier 8, Keene St. 4

Rivier began the contest drawing three walks to load the bases, but a swinging strikeout got Keene St. out of the early jam.

The Owls countered the early pressure from the Raiders in the bottom of the second inning, scoring two runs on four hits.

Keene St. remained out in front as both squads went scoreless through the third and fourth innings.

Rivier broke through in the top of the fifth inning with six Raiders recording hits in succession before the first out was recorded. Back-to-back singles from junior Hayley Rapaglia and senior Courtney Marioles began the Raider rally before graduate student Hannah Muchemore added an RBI double to center field to cut the Owls' lead to one. Junior Avry Nelson continued the hitting frenzy with a base-clearing double to right field, giving Rivier a 3-2 lead. Junior Oliva Couto added a single to third base to the book and graduate student Kayla Miles tallied an RBI double to left field to extend the Raiders' lead to 4-2. With two outs in the inning, junior Kylee Caetano capped off Rivier's six-run inning with a two RBI double to right center, increasing the Rivier lead to four runs.

Couto and sophomore Hayleigh Silva propelled Rivier to a six-run lead in the top of the sixth inning. Couto's sacrifice fly brought home Marioles to put the Raiders ahead by five runs and Silva's bases loaded walk put Rivier ahead, 8-2.

Keene St. put up a fight in the bottom of the seventh inning, rallying for late runs, but came up short in the end, with Rivier taking game one.

Five Raiders recorded two hits at the plate in game one. Marioles, Muchemore, and Miles each went 2-for-4, while Muchemore and Miles contributed an RBI each. Rapaglia added a 2-for-3 day at the dish with two walks and a run and Couto went a perfect 2-for-2 with a walk of her own.

Sophomore Hailey Berube went the full seven innings in the circle, striking out three Owls allowing just two runs.

Keene St. 14, Rivier 10

Rivier picked up right where they left off in the top of the first inning in game two. Sophomore Hayleigh Silva began the inning by drawing a walk. Junior Hayley Rapaglia and senior Courtney Marioles registered back-to-back base knocks for the second time in both contests to load the bases. With two outs in the inning, Nelson hit a base-clearing double to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead.

Keene St. answered on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the second inning. The third inning came and went with seven total batters appearing at the plate for each program with the score still 3-1.

A base knock from graduate student Kayla Miles helped the Raiders regain their three-run lead. Silva brought in junior Olivia Couto for another run on a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 5-1. Rapaglia added a two RBI double to right field to give Rivier a 7-1 lead. Marioles contributed an RBI double of her own to cap off the scoring for the Raiders, giving the guests a seven-run lead.

Keene St. continued to chip away at Rivier's lead in the bottom half of the fourth inning. A double from Kalee Keyser brought home the Owls' first run of the inning. Keene St. cut the lead to four runs on a single up the middle off the bat of Abby Weiterman.

The Owls kept the bats hot in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut away at the deficit. An RBI single up the middle brought Keene St. within one run, 8-7.

Marioles and graduate student Hannah Muchmore each recorded hits in the top of the sixth inning to pull away from the Owls and take a 10-7 advantage. In the bottom half of the frame, Keene St. exploded for seven runs on seven runs and a Rivier error to earn the 14-10 victory.

Marioles led the Raiders offensively in game two, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI and two runs each. In the circle, she contributed 5.1 innings posting one strikeout.