Eight-Run 4th Keys RHAM Win Over Fermi

An eight-run fourth inning enabled RHAM to come back from a four-run deficit, as the Sachems went on to defeat Fermi, 16-10 in high school softball action Thursday in Enfield.

Marissa Navin, Melissa St. Pierre and Courtney Manarky each had three hits to back winning pitcher Loren Madore. Stephanie Fontano knocked in three runs for the Sachems (2-2).

Ashley Reid had four hits for the Falcons (1-3), while Katie Schienda and Katie Saltzgiver each collected three.

Fermi jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Reid singled, stole second and scored on Melissa Urbon's double. RHAM scored three runs in the second without benefit of a hit, taking advantage of three walks, a wild pitch and a throwing error.

A six-run second boosted Fermi to a 7-3 lead. Saltzgiver, a freshman playing her first varsity game, drove in Schienda and Jaimie Wonderlie with a single, then Sara Moynihan scored on a close play at the plate after a single by Reid. Urbon blasted a triple to right field, plating Saltzgiver and Reid, then scored on an infield error.

RHAM cut the deficit in half in the third, with run-scoring hits by St. Pierre and Manarky, but the Falcons got one back in their half of the inning. Saltzgiver and Emily Quail singled, and Saltzgiver scored on a wild throw after a sacrifice bunt by Reid.

Two-run singles by Navin, Madore and Fontano highlighted RHAM's fourth-inning explosion, which provided the Sachems the lead for good, 13-8. Fermi got one back in the fifth when Saltzgiver singled, stole second and came home on a double by Reid.

The Sachems added three insurance runs in the seventh for a 16-9 lead, and the Falcons were able to push just one run across in their final at-bat. Reid singled and eventually scored on a single by Schienda. Third baseman St. Pierre clinched the victory for RHAM by snaring a hard line drive by Wonderlie.

Olivia Baillargeon pitched the entire game for Fermi in her first varsity start. "Olivia did a nice job today, considering she has a bum ankle. She really battled," Fermi head coach Sean Sweeney said.

Fermi returns to action Wednesday, hosting Tolland at 11 a.m.