Due in no small part to their current seven-game winning streak, UR softball tied its single-season victory record of 17 with its defeat of Keuka College.
The Yellowjackets won all four of their games last week, two against Hamilton College on April 9 after being delayed from April 8 and two against Keuka on April 10, which gives the team a season record of 17-10.
“We set some pretty high goals at the start of the season, so our success is not as big a shock to us as one might think,” Head Coach Jeanine Gunther said. “But really, it is a great accomplishment for us to have come this far and we expect even greater results in the forthcoming weeks.”
After being rained out on April 8, the team traveled to Hamilton to play a doubleheader the following afternoon.
In the first game, junior Kristina Long pitched a complete shut-out, scattering just two hits and striking out two.
Long’s performance helped the Yellowjackets overcome Hamilton by a score of 8-0.
Senior Bridget Baran earned two RBIs off her double in the third and was 2-3 on the day.
Sophomore Jena Robertson went two-for-four on the day, getting two RBIs off her singles in the second and third innings.
Robertson lead the UR offense in the second game against Hamilton, going four-for-four and contributing three RBIs to the Yellowjackets’ 10-2 victory.
With big innings in the fifth and the seventh, scoring five and three runs respectively, the Yellowjacket offense backed up the impressive pitching outing by junior Jen Moshier and freshman Alicia Citro.
“We went into our games against Hamilton knowing that we had a job to do,” Gunther said.
“Everyone on the team contributed defensively, and we got those two big wins off consistent hitting.”
The game against Keuka proved to be a nail-biter as the Yellowjackets edged past them with a 1-0 victory.
The lone run of the ball game came off a Baran RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Yellowjacket defense was solid, committing no errors during the entire game. The team’s performance on the field kept the Keuka offense at bay.
In the end, it was truly a pitchers’ duel, with Long and the Keuka hurler, Mari-Anne Wallace, scattering four hits each throughout the game and striking out three and five respectively.
Ultimately Long came out victorious, throwing a complete game for the Yellowjackets.
Long didn’t surrender a walk to any of the 26 batters she faced.
“That first match-up with Keuka was really well played on both sides,” Gunther said. “The pitching by both teams was outstanding, and we were able to get out of some pretty tight defensive situations. In the end, we moved our base runners around in that last inning and got that all-important run in to win the game.”
The second game with Keuka was not as tense as the first, with the Yellowjackets defeating Keuka 10-0 in the fifth inning by the mercy rule.
Moshier again came through for her team, allowing only one hit and two walks. She also struck out five batters for her eighth win of the season.
With four RBIs from her two singles and a triple, Junior Laura Rubinchuk contributed to the Yellowjackets’ offense, going three-for-three in the game.
Baran hit two-for-two with two singles that each knocked in an RBI.
“I’ve never had more confidence in our lineup,” Rubinchuk said. “You just know that no matter who’s up to bat, something will happen. Everybody is contributing defensively and offensively. It’s just a great feeling to be on a team where you trust every single one of your teammates. I’m looking forward to breaking the win mark and setting a new one.”
UR will certainly get the opportunity to top their win record with their six games coming up next week. Playing all three doubleheaders at home, UR will face off against SUNY Geneseo on April 14, Skidmore College on April 16 and Union College on April 17.
Troyer can be reached at mtroyer@campustimes.org.
