RICHMOND, Ky. – The Colonels opened ASUN play with a tale of two games, taking both in a doubleheader against UCA, 2-1 in eleven innings and 11-1 in five innings.
 
The Colonels (19-6, 2-0 ASUN) start the conference schedule with two wins for the second season in a row.
 
GAME ONE – EKU 2, UCA 1 (11 inn.)
 
Maddi Rutan (8-4) got the start in the circle for the Colonels and took it the distance, pitching a complete 11.0 innings. The sophomore allowed just one run and struck out ten Bears - including her 100th strikeout of the season - en route to the extra innings victory.
 
The lone runs in regulation came in the first inning for both teams. Jaelin Haynes put the run on the board for EKU after Reese Knox sacrificed herself on the basepath with a steal attempt while Haynes was on third.
 
What followed was nine-straight shutout innings from both pitchers with Rutan allowing just three hits through the nine inning duel. The winning breakthrough came for the Colonels in the bottom of the eleventh.
 
With a runner starting the inning on second and advancing to third on a perfectly placed Knox bunt, Rutan put the game to bed herself.
 
The two-way player lined a drive through the left side and into outfield for the walk-off win.
 
GAME TWO – EKU 11, UCA 1 (5 inn.)
 
Starting game two in the circle for EKU was Victoria Byrum (6-0) in a game that could not have been more different than game one.
 
Runs came early, often, and in droves for the Colonels, putting the game in run rule territory within the first two innings.
 
Rutan picked up where she left off, belting a ball to right field that snuck past the diving bear outfielder for an RBI triple – just the second Colonel triple on the year.
 
Jada McLeod, Skyler Billips, and Makayla Mathis followed up with singles that all drove in runs, one apiece for McLeod and Billips and two for Mathis.
 
McLeod and Mathis both picked up two more RBIs in the second inning on a double and a single, respectively. The four RBI game is a new career-high for Mathis
 
The Bears managed one run in the third inning, but the Colonels struck right back in the fourth with two more runs to make the gap ten.
 
Kaitlyn Wallis made the most of her pitch-hitting opportunity with an RBI single to center while Taci Haase capped off an incredible two games defensively with a sacrifice fly.
 
The Colonel defense quickly downed the next three Bear batters to end the game in five innings.
 
NEXT UP
 
The Colonels and Bears finish out the series with one more matchup on Saturday, Mar. 15. First pitch is slated for 1 PM.