Softball Recap: Rice Memorial Takes Down Ranked Harwood

Green Knights

Margin (Wins)

05/01/25 vs Richford	26
05/19/25 vs Harwood	23
05/15/25 vs Vergennes	19
04/28/25 @ Harwood	15
05/13/25 @ Milton	14

Rice Memorial faced Harwood in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Monday. The Green Knights blew past the Highlanders 32-9. The Green Knights might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six games by six runs or more this season.

Bella Messineo made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over 3.2 innings while giving up three earned (and four unearned) runs but no hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. She was even better at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Finley Strong, who went 4-for-5 with one home run, three stolen bases, and eight RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Lynsey Nagle, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with five runs, two stolen bases, and three RBI.

Rice Memorial kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 19 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Harwood only managed six hits.

The victory (which was Rice Memorial's fourth in a row) raised their record to 7-1. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 19.3 runs over those games. As for Harwood, they dropped their record down to 0-6-1 with the defeat, which was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Rice Memorial will head out to take on Mt. Abraham at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Harwood, they will venture away from home to face off against Spaulding at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.