The Community College of Rhode Island softball team came up short in the second of two games Thursday in the 2024 NJCAA Division III World Series consolation round, ending its quest for a national championship.
After losing its tournament opener Wednesday to No. 3 seed SUNY Corning Community College, 3-2, the sixth-seeded Knights rebounded Thursday afternoon with a 9-8 extra-inning win over No. 7 seed Herkimer, setting the stage for an evening showdown against No. 5 Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. Nursing a two-run lead with one out in the bottom of the seventh, the Knights were on the brink of advancing to Friday’s consolation semifinals, but the Cobras rallied for three runs – the final two coming with two outs – to escape with an 8-7 win.
CCRI closes out tournament play today at 3 pm in the fifth-place game in a rematch against SUNY Corning.
In Thursday’s opener, CCRI raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and broke a 4-4 tie with four runs in the top of the sixth courtesy of a throwing error by Herkimer shortstop Olivia Friend with the bases loaded that allowed two runs to score and a two-run double by Brianna Grenier (Cumberland, RI).
After the Generals scored four in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings, Grenier came through again in the top of the eighth with an RBI single to put the Knights back on top. Sophia Chevian (Warwick, RI) retired the side in the bottom of the inning to close out Herkimer and earn the win in relief – her 14th victory of the season. Grenier finished 3-for-4 with three RBI, and Zoe Battersby (West Warwick, RI) went 2-for-5 with two RBI.
With Chevian on the mound for the nightcap against Caldwell Tech, the Knights fell behind by two runs early but rallied for two in the second and three in the third to take a 5-2 lead. Battersby homered to cut the Cobras’ lead to 2-1, and Grenier continued her torrid pace an inning later with a two-run home run to give CCRI a 5-2 lead.
Trailing 6-3 after three and a half innings, the Cobras pulled to within 6-5 before Kate Motta’s (Warwick, RI) sacrifice fly gave the Knights a 7-5 lead entering the bottom of the seventh. Janina Mazzulla (Johnston, RI), who pitched a scoreless sixth in relief, got the first out of the seventh on a line drive to center, but then hit Maddison Powell with a pitch and allowed a single to Aleah Ikard.
Sydney Ferguson singled up the middle to drive in a run and Kacey Triplett got hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out, but Mazzulla rebounded by getting Carlee Tart to hit a chopper to third baseman Kailey St. Pierre (Scituate, RI), who nailed Izard at home. With the Cobras down to their last out, Emily Dudley hit a sharp one-hopper to third that handcuffed St. Pierre, allowing the tying run to score, and Maggie Bullard followed with her third hit of the game, a single through the left side to drive in Triplett with the winning run. Grenier, Battersby, and Motta each drove in two runs apiece.
After a historic season in which they won their first 20 games, finished sixth in the nation in the NJCAA D-III poll, and finished with the best single-season win percentage in program history, the Knights have a chance to end 2024 on a positive note Friday, which would give them 34 victories – already more than the 2009 team that finished with a then program-best 31. This year’s team also won its first Region XXI title since 2016 and its first Northeast District championship to punch its ticket to the Softball World Series for the first time in program history.
CCRI offers seven varsity athletics programs competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and boasts an academic support program for all student-athletes. For more information, visit ccriknights.com or follow CCRI Athletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at @CCRIAthletics.
