ROANOKE, Va. – The 10^th -ranked Randolph-Macon softball team met Roanoke for game two of the 2023 ODAC Softball Championship Series. A rally in the sixth inning to take the lead was the factor in a 4-3 win for RMC, capturing the ODAC title.

The Basics:

Scores: Randolph-Macon 4, Roanoke 3

Location: Roanoke, Va./Botetourt Sports Complex

Records: Randolph-Macon (38-8, 17-3 ODAC), Roanoke (27-12, 17-3 ODAC)

How it Happened:

• After a scoreless first, RMC opened the second inning with two runners on and no one out. Kiley Lamberth (Mechanicsville, Va./Mechanicsville) lifted a ball to put RMC on the board with a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0.
• Gracie Ellis (New Kent, Va./New Kent) worked around a runner on third with two outs. RMC picked her up in the top of the third with an RBI groudout by Rilee Baughan (Warsaw, Va./Rappahannock) after Naomi Sadler (Emporia, Va./Brunswick) singled and stole second.
• Roanoke led off the bottom of the third with a double down the line and promptly scored with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit in half to 2-1.
• The Yellow Jackets threatened again in the fourth, as Kiley Lamberth and Maddy Bates (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) singled with two outs, but RMC couldn't add another on the board.
• For the second straight inning, Roanoke got a run on a sacrifice fly. The Maroons had two runners on with two straight hits to begin the inning and tied the game up with one out.
• RMC posed another threat in the top of the fifth, putting two runners aboard but came up empty. Roanoke began the bottom half with a double and later scored on an RBI single to take their first lead since the third inning of game one, 3-2.
• Jessica Pittman (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) and Kiley Lamberth opened up the sixth with two hits and were moved over by a sacrifice bunt by Cameron Hildebrand (Fincastle, Va./James River) who passed the torch to Amanda Lanyon (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) who drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. Naomi Sadler came through with a two-out RBI single, taking the lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.
• Gracie Ellis shut the door in the sixth and seventh to finish the complete game and capture the second ODAC title in program history.

By the Numbers:

• Naomi Sadler was a tough out, finishing 4-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. She also stole a base. Her RBI in the sixth was the go-ahead run.
• Kiley Lamberth had two key hits to add to her RBI on a sacrifice fly. She also scored a run in the game.
• Gracie Ellis pitched a complete game for the second straight day, keeping Roanoke at bay throughout the championship series.
• Maddy Bates made the most of a pinch hit opportunity with a single, going 1-1 on the day.
• Kayla Davis was the third Yellow Jackets player with multiple hits, finishing 2-4 in the game.
• RMC captures its second ODAC title in program history and first since 2015.
• Gracie Elllis was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
• Kayla Davis, Amanda Lanyon, Naomi Sadler, and Rilee Baughan were also named to the All-Tournament team.

Up Next:

Randolph-Macon will await the NCAA Selection Show to determine their location of the regional of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.