Softball opens season with two losses to Bethany (W. Va.), 5-3, 12-8
NAPLES, Fla. – The RIT Softball team opened the 2025 campaign with a pair of losses to Bethany (W. Va.), Friday, at the Gene Cusic Classic. The Tigers fell, 5-3, in the opener before coming up short, 12-8, in the rematch.
BETHANY 5, RIT 3
- Scoreless through three innings, Bethany broke through with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth.
- RIT tied the game on a two-run double by Bailey Kehl in the top of the sixth, but Bethany bounced back with three runs on four hits and an error in the bottom half of the inning to retake a 5-2 edge.
- RIT looked to rally in the top of the seventh, plating a run on a RBI single by Anna Cavotta and later loading the bases, but Bethany logged the final two outs to close the opening win.
- Jessica Majot took the complete-game loss, only allowing six hits and three earned runs.
- Kehl, Cavotta and Emma Merkley each collected two hits in four at-bats apiece, while Cavotta, Merkley and Sylvia White accounted for the Tiger runs.
BETHANY 12, RIT 8
- RIT put together 14 hits in the rematch, led by a 4-for-4/2 RBI showing by Merkley and 3-for-5/2 RBI outing by Kate Carlone, but couldn't come all the way back from an early five-run deficit in the game-two setback.
- Bethany brought three runs across in the top of the first, before the Tigers got one back in the bottom of the third on a one-out triple by Majot followed by a RBI single by Carlone.
- Bethany logged three more runs in the top of the third for a 6-1 lead.
- RIT loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the third and scored a run on a RBI single by Carlone that plated Maddy Cook for a 6-2 game.
- Merkley led off a three-run fourth inning with a single, before a single by Carlianna Ewing and back-to-back, run-scoring doubles by White and Cook pulled the Tigers within one, 6-5.
- Bethany brought three runs home on four hits in the top of the sixth, but RIT answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning for a 9-8 deficit. Cook led off with a triple before coming home on a wild pitch, before Merkley plated two more runs with a two-run single with the bases loaded.
- Bethany pulled away for good with three unearned runs in the top of the seventh, before holding the Tigers scoreless in the bottom half of the inning to complete the sweep.
- Cook also finished 3-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI.
- Mackenzie Blair took the loss in her first collegiate start, allowing five earned runs on eight hits in four total innings.
WHAT'S NEXT
RIT plays two more games on Saturday at the Gene Cusic Classic, taking on Cobleskill at 11:00 a.m. and Westfield State at 1:00 p.m.
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