RICHMOND, Ky. - The bats were red hot when they mattered for the Eastern Kentucky University softball team as they grabbed two more wins on Saturday at the Colonel Classic.

The Colonels (11-5, 0-0 ASUN) sweep both games against UIC (4-14, 0-0 MVC) and take game one of the weekend against Akron (10-8, 0-0 MAC), moving to 3-0 on the weekend.

GAME ONE - EKU 9, UIC 0 (5 inn.)

Victoria Byrum (4-0) got the start in the circle for EKU, pitching a complete 5.0 innings and giving up just one hit, one walk, and tallying four strikeouts en route to her fourth win of the season.

It took longer for the Colonel bats to heat up than in Friday's game, but once they warmed up, they were scorching hot.

The Colonels were held scoreless through three innings before exploding in the fourth inning with nine runs to run-rule the Flames.

The party got started with a run off a Flames throwing error on a perfectly-placed bunt by Lilly Davis to score Kennedy Drafton. Jada McLeod capitalized on the momentum immediately, going yard on just the second pitch of the at-bat for a three-run home run.

Four batters later, the Colonels capitalized off another Flames miscue as Taci Haase reached home on a wild pitch. Making their way back to the top of the order, Drafton grabbed two RBIs of her own with a single to make it 7-0.

Maddi Rutan put the exclamation mark on the inning. With a full count, the sophomore smoked the payoff pitch for a bomb of a two-run home run that cleared the Softball Hitting Facility beyond center field to push the Colonels into run-rule territory, 9-0.

Needing just three outs to put the game to bed early, the Colonel defense did just that, going three up, three down for the win.

GAME TWO - EKU 7, Akron 4

Rutan was first in the circle for the Colonels to start game two, collecting another five strikeout appearance. However, Tayteum Vigansky (4-0) grabbed the win after coming in in the fourth inning while Lauren Narvaez (1 SV) collected her first save of the season.

The Zips were on the scoreboard first, jumping out to a 3-0 lead with a run in the second inning and two runs in the third.

The Colonels clawed within one with a run apiece in the fourth and fifth, thanks to a double to right center for McLeod for her fourth RBI of the day and a Reese Knox RBI single.

Akron inched the lead back to two, 4-2, with another run in the top of the sixth before the Colonel bats came alive once again in a big way in the bottom of the frame.

McLeod got the Colonels fired up with a leadoff home run, her second homer of the day, to cut the lead back to one. The Zips defense fell back in line to record two outs and looked to get out of the inning with the lead intact before Knox grabbed another RBI single on a 2-2 count to square the game up at 4-4. 

With two runners in scoring position, the Colonels surged ahead with a two-run single off the bat of Drafton for their first lead of the game. Rutan once again put the cherry on top of the inning, securing an insurance run with an RBI single to push the lead to 7-4.

Needing three outs, Narvaez made her way to the mound. After a quick line out, the Zips rattled off two singles to bring the tying run to the plate. Haase had other ideas, though, turning a double play on the next batter up to ice the game and secure the comeback win.

UP NEXT

The Colonels finish up the Colonel Classic with one final game against Akron. Due to frigid temperatures in the morning, the game - originally scheduled for 1 PM - has been pushed back to 3:30 PM. The game against Dayton originally scheduled for Sunday will be postponed, with the Flyers making a midweek trip back to Richmond in April to make up the contest.