STATESMEN FACE TOUGH PITCHING IN OPENING DAY OF SOFTBALL INVITATIONAL

DINWIDDIE, Va., (March 5, 2016) -- The old adage is that good pitching will beat good hitting, and on the opening day of the RBC Softball Invitational, the Richard Bland College softball team faced three solid teams with solid hitting that kept the Statesmen from its normal high-run producing offense. The Statesmen dropped two of three games on Saturday afternoon, playing a single game at home and two at the Dinwiddie Sports Complex, losing to CCBC Catonsville 5-2 and Cuyahoga Community College 6-5, while earning a 4-3 win over College of Southern Maryland.

Richard Bland drops to 4-11 on the season with Saturday's results and will face Potomac State of West Virginia in the second day of play at the Invitational at 9:00 a.m.

CCBC Catonsville 5, Richard Bland 2
The Statesmen were limited to a single run in the second and seventh innings, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when freshman August Ringer singled home sophomore Whitney Clements. That lead held until the top of the fourth when CCBC Catonsville finally pushed across two runs against RBC starter Katelyn Cobb. The game remained tightly contested until the top of the sixth when CCBC Catonsville strung together three singles and a walk in tallying three runs off reliever sophomore Brittany Wash.

Richard Bland had six hits in the contest, two of them doubles coming off the bat of sophomore Hannah Barnes, who doubled home sophomore Mackenzie Babb in the seventh inning for RBC's second run.

Richard Bland 4, College of Southern Maryland 3
Sophomore pitcher Shannon Buffington scattered seven hits in tossing a complete game 4-3 victory. The Statesmen staked her to a 3-0 lead after the first inning and appeared ripe for a big offensive output. Richard Bland mustered only three hits in the contest, but made the most of them. Sophomore Hannah Barnes open the game with a single to left field, stole second and advanced to third on a single to left by fellow sophomore Kim Ellis. Both Barnes and Ellis scored on a groundout by sophomore Whitney Clements and Buffington helped her own cause by walking and center scoring on a groundout to first base by Katelyn King.

College of Southern Maryland answered with three runs in their own top of the third, manufactured by a double, walk and consecutive singles before Buffington coaxed Jasmyn Berry to flyout to centerfielder Hayley Olson. The Statesmen tallied the games winning run in the bottom of the third after Clements reached on a fielder's choice and was brought home off a single by freshman Maddison Waycaster. Buffington was superb the next four innings, allowing just a single hit. She finished with three strikeouts and a lone walk.

Cuyahoga Community College 6, Richard Bland 5
Fielding miscues led to six unearned runs for visiting Cuyahoga Community College, which led 6-2 after four innings, but had to withstand a Statesmen rally that saw Richard Bland come within 6-5 after scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Cuyahoga was successful in knocking freshman starter Katelyn Cobb out of the game after just 1 1/3 innings, but freshman Brittany Wash was a workhorse in pitching the final 5 2/3 innings and keeping her team in a position to defeat a perennially ranked team.

Down 6-2 heading into the home fifth, RBC tacked on three runs thanks to the fleet feet of sophomore Abby Eichelberger, who walked, stole second and scored on a single by Barnes. Sophomore Kimberly Ellis walked and Clements delivered a single that brought the tying run to the plate in Buffington. Her sacrifice fly brought home both Ellis and Barnes, but Clements was stranded on third base after Cuyahoga pitcher Payge Delbert coaxed a Statesmen strikeout. Richard Bland left runners on second base in both the sixth and seventh innings, but were unable to bring either home.