MEDINA, Ohio -- After a week of inclement-weather postponements and cancelations, the Pirates returned to the diamond Thursday. In a pitcher's duel gone sour late, Rocky River fell to Buckeye 9-2.
The Maroon & White were on the wrong side of a 1-for-3 exchange in the first inning. But both hurlers -- River's Katie Mommers and Buckeye's Cassie Girard -- settled down and hung zeroes over the second, third, and fourth innings. In the fifth, the Pirates leveraged a leadoff walk into a run when Kelsey Murphy came up with a two-out RBI single to left. They went into the home half of the fifth trailing 3-2.
The bottom of the fifth went sideways on the Pirates. The Bucks did some cooking on their own with a walk and three hits in the inning. The Pirates added fuel to the fire with four errors. Six runners came into score, and that would close out the scoring in the Great Lakes Conference affair. Rocky River would get just one batter aboard over the final two innings.
For the game, Rocky River (3-5, 2-4 GLC) outhit Buckeye 6-5. But the home nine took advantage of Pirate miscues and went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Both pitchers went the distance. Mommers allowed nine runs -- three earned -- in six stanzas. She yielded five hits and two walks while striking out two. Girard went seven, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk. She fanned six.
At the plate, Lillian Sereika went 1-for-2 with a walk. River's other base hits were authored by Murphy, Mommers, Emily Satayathum, Juliana Benjamin, and Kate Tlapa.
For Buckeye, Gabrielle Melillo went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored.
The loss marked Rocky River's fourth in a row.
CANNON FIRE ...
A-OK WITH THE OBP: With a single in three trips to the plate, Kate Mommers kept alive on on-base streak that includes every game the last two seasons (31 games in 2021-22). Mommers, who owns a .536 on-base percentage in 2022, has reached base in 52-of-55 career games. She has registered a .353 batting average and .572 OBP in her career.
ON DECK: Rocky River is slated to play a non-conference home game on Saturday (Cleveland Central Catholic).
by Skip Snow
# # # RR # # #