TUCSON, Ariz.-- Brittany Rheault pitched a seven-hit shutout and struck out 13 hitters as the Jimmie softball team defeated Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) in the first of two games on Tuesday.
Jamestown rallied from a 7-0 and 8-2 deficits against Siena Heights (Mich.), scoring 10 runs in the fifth inning on the way to a 15-11 victory in the team's second game of the day.
Rheault's 13 strikeouts in the opener were the second-most ever by a Jimmie pitcher and just one away from the single-game record of 14, set by Tamara Rodgers in 1998. It was her fourth career double-digit strikeout game.
The Jimmies got on the board in the second inning on an RBI single from Brook Rheault. Autumn Wang led off the inning and was sacrificed to second by Sydney Greenlund. Wang stole third and scored on Rheault's one-out knock.
UJ would put the game away with five runs in the third inning. Sydney Jeffers and Rylee Perez reached base with singles, and Emily Newman followed with a double to score Jeffers. With one out, Wang singled to score Perez and move Newman to third. Greenlund singled to bring home Newman and later came around to score on an error.
Wang hit a solo home run, her third of the season, in the seventh inning to make it 7-0 Jimmies. The outfielder finished the game 3 for 4 with three runs scored, a pair of runs batted in, and a stolen base.
Newman and Greenlund also recorded two hits in the win.
Rheault (5-2) tossed her second shutout of the season, scattering seven hits. She walked one and also hit a batter.
Against Siena Heights, Jamestown was down 7-0 after the top of the first. Autumn Wang hit her second homer of the day and fourth of the season, a two-run shot in the bottom of the second, to make it 7-2. The Saints would add a single run in the fourth and increase their lead to 8-2.
Despite being down six runs going into the bottom of the fifth, the Jimmies kept battling at the plate. Their perserverance paid off as UJ scored 10 times to take a 12-8 lead. Jamestown opened the inning with three straight singles to load the bases for Sydney Jeffers, who kept the hit parade going with an RBI single. Emily Newman and Sydney Greenlund would have two-run singles, and Wang would connect for a two-run triple to boost the UJ rally.
Siena Heights pushed home two runs in the sixth to cut the Jimmie lead to 12-10. UJ answered back with three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double from Greenlund and a Brook Rheault two-run triple. The Saints threatened in the top half of the seventh, getting another run to make it 15-11, but the Jimmie defense was able to get three outs before any further damage.
Emma Keller (3-1) earned the win with 5 1/3 innings of relief. She scattered 11 hits and gave up five runs while walking three. Hanna Dunnigan started for the Jimmies and faced five hitters without recording an out. Brittany Rheault pitched 1 2/3 innings for her third save.
Keller also had a big game at the plate, going 3 for 4 with three runs scored and one batted in. Wang (2 for 4, 4 RBI and 3 runs scored) and Greenlund (2 for 4, 2 RBI, and 1 run) also had multiple hit games. Rylee Perez, Brook Rheault, and Newman each drove in two runs.
Jamestown is now 11-5 on the year and will play Purdue-North Central and College of St. Mary on Wednesday.
