Rivier's Sophia Quinlan of Salem gets ready to take a swing during Thursday's game in Leesburg, Fla. as the Raiders spring break trip continues. (Photo courtesy of Rivier Athletics)

LEESBERG, Fla. – The Rivier softball team split on day three at The Spring Games on Thursday afternoon, falling to Heidelberg 1-0 before rallying to defeat Bluffton 9-5 at the Sleepy Hollow Complex.

The Raiders now sit at 4-2 on the young campaign and will return to action tomorrow for another set of games facing regional opponent Wentworth and Concordia Chicago at 10:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. respectively.

Heidelberg 1, Rivier 0

The lone run came in the first inning generated by a single down the right field line. This would be all the offense either team would score throughout the seven-inning affair.

Hailey Berube pitched seven innings, striking out three batters.

The Raiders totaled four hits, with Heidelberg earning five.

Rivier 9, Bluffton 5

The Raiders jumped to get the lead early in the first, produced by two walks.

Oliva Couto singled to right center in the second sending Avry Nelson across the plate, to increase Riv’s lead to 3-0.

The Beavers totaled four singles in the third inning, putting away five runs to take the lead, 5-3.

In the fourth, Rivier added on five unearned runs to steal back the lead.

Riv’s final run came in the fifth inning from Hayley Rapaglia’s ground out to second, sending Christina Panagiotopoulos home, 9-5.

Courtney Marioles was tagged with the win, striking out two batters.

The Raiders totaled 12 hits, while Bluffton had nine. Sophia Quinlin doubled down the right field line while Nelson and Couto each had a stolen base.

BASEBALL

LANCASTER BIBLE 8, RIVIER 5

The Raiders dropped to 2-3 with the setback while the Chargers improved to 5-4 at Ebbets Field/The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Rivier made it 1-0 in the bottom of the first as JD Normand knocked Dylan Aliberti across the plate on a sacrifice fly to right.

Lancaster Bible responded in the top of the second as an error in the field allowed a run to score, tying the score 1-1.

In the bottom half, Rivier would put together a three-run effort jumpstarted by Sebastien Reis who nailed an RBI double to dead center field to score Alex Gallicano. From there, Dylan Aliberti scored Reis on a groundout before Kyle Hsu pushed Owen Medlock in with another RBI groundout.

The Chargers cut the deficit to one on a pair of RBI singles.

Rivier regained a two-run lead on a Ben O’Connell RBI single in the bottom half of the fifth, making it 5-3.

Lancaster Bible would go on to outscore the Raiders 5-0 over the final four innings to drop the Raiders below .500.

First year righty Sean Kuhlhoff got the start, tossing 3.2 innings in his collegiate debut.

Rivier is scheduled to continue its Spring Break schedule today with a 10:00 a.m. matchup with Hilbert at Pelicans Stadium.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

RAIDERS DROP PAIR IN CALIFORNIA

The Rivier men’s volleyball team fell to a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in the opening day of action from the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational at Gilbert Arena in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Thursday afternoon.

Rivier fell to No. 18 Marymount (Va.) in four sets before being swept by the hosts, sixth-ranked Cal Lutheran to fall to 9-9 overall.

The Raiders will conclude their West Coast trip with a 6:00 p.m. match against Aurora on Friday, March 8 back in Gilbert Arena.

No. 18 Marymount (Va.) 3, Rivier 1

Despite a 13-kill performance by Ryan Peace, the Raiders fell to the Saints in the opening match of the day in four sets. Rivier’s Neil Rea dished out 34 assists as the team recorded a collective .211 percentage. Marymount’s Luke Pogue exploded to hit at a .643 clip as he notched 10 kills.

No. 6 Cal Lutheran 3, Rivier 0

In the second and final match of the day, the Kingsmen cruised to 25-17, 25-17, 25-12 set victories to down the Raiders as they hit .338 as a squad.

Newsletter