CIRCLEVILLE — University of Rio Grande juniors Sydney Campolo and Kali Brickman authored solid performances in the pitcher’s circle, while Boo Sturgill hit home runs in each game to help the RedStorm pull away for a sweep of host Ohio Christian University on Friday afternoon — in a River States Conference softball doubleheader at the OCU Softball Complex.
Rio posted an 11-1 mercy rule-shortened win in the opener and a 4-0 triumph in the nightcap, pushing its winning streak to five straight and its season record to 24-14 and 14-6 in the RSC.
The RedStorm carried a scant 1-0 lead into the fourth inning before exploding for five runs – three of which scored on a Sturgill homer — to provide plenty of breathing room.
Another five-run uprising in the top of the sixth inning helped to invoke the eight-run mercy rule.
Junior Caitlyn Brisker of Oak Hill, the reigning RSC Player of the Week, had two hits and a drove in a run, while freshman Madison Perry of Portsmouth added a double of her own.
Marissa Bardanaro hit a fourth inning solo home run for Ohio Christian, while Kristin Gardner had a double.
Gardner also started and took the loss in the circle for the Trailblazers, allowing 12 hits and eight earned runs in a complete game effort.
In game two, Rio Grande grabbed a 2-0 first inning lead thanks to a bases-loaded walk to Perry and a sacrifice fly by sophomore Peyton Young
That same lead held up until Sturgill, a sophomore from Wheelersburg, cracked a fifth-inning home run to double the advantage.
Sturgill finished 2-for-4 in the win.
Redstorm sweep Point Park
RIO GRANDE — The University of Rio Grande’s second go-around with Point Park University provided some drastically different results.
Nearly two weeks to the day after dropping both ends of a doubleheader to the Pioneers in Pittsburgh, the RedStorm turned the tables with a pair of late rallies to post a sweep of their River States Conference East Division rival on Saturday afternoon in twinbill action at Rio Softball Park.
Rio scored a pair of two-out sixth inning runs for a 2-1 victory in game one, while pushing across four markers in the bottom of the fifth inning to erase an early deficit and notch a 5-1 triumph in the nightcap.
The RedStorm improved to 26-14 and 16-6 in league play, extending their winning streak to seven straight in the process.
The sweep also helped ease the disappointment of the two losses at the hands of Point Park on April 3 — Rio’s first regular season doubleheader loss in conference play since 2015.
In game one, all of the scoring came in the sixth inning.
Melanie Taylor, who was a one-woman wrecking crew in Point Park’s earlier sweep of the RedStorm, snapped a scoreless tie with a leadoff home run in the top half of the frame to give the Pioneers a 1-0 edge.
Rio Grande rallied, though, in the bottom half of the inning — all after the first two batters had been retired.
Perry and Young had back-to-back hits before junior Lexi Carnahan brought home the tying run with a single of her own.
Junior Sydney Campolo, who was running for Young, scored the go-ahead marker moments later on a single to center by freshman Lexi Thompson.
In the nightcap, the RedStorm grabbed control of the game with a barrage of extra-base hits in the bottom of the fifth.
Thompson led off with a single, moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by senior Christen Risner of Wheelersburg, then scored the go-ahead run on a double by Sturgill.
Freshman Kayla Sedgwick then doubled home Sturgill, before Brisker tripled home Sedgwick to make it 4-1.
After a pitching change and a lineout, Perry singled to center to score Brisker.
Brisker and Sedgwick both went 2-for-3 with a run batted in for Rio, as Brisker’s other hit was also a triple.
RedStorm sweep Saints
CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. — The University of Rio Grande closed out the road portion of its regular-season schedule in style, notching a doubleheader sweep of Thomas More University in non-conference action at the Thomas More Softball Complex.
The RedStorm recorded a 7-5 victory in the opener, while earning a 5-3 triumph over the Saints in the nightcap.
Rio Grande pushed its overall record to 28-14 with the victories, while also extending its winning streak to nine straight games.
Thomas More, in its final season as member of the Mid-South Conference and the NAIA in general, dropped to 22-16 with the two losses.
In game one, Rio Grande broke things open early when Brisker led off the game with a home run and Risner added a three-run shot of her own.
Risner finished 3-for-3 with four RBI, while Perry added a double and an RBI to the winning effort.
Game two also saw the hosts make things interesting by scoring all of their runs on back-to-back, two-out home runs.
However, Rio Grande had already built a 5-0 lead before the Saints’ rally and managed to hang on.
Brisker led the RedStorm at the plate with three hits, while Young doubled and drove in a pair of runs.
