ASHLAND, Va. --- No. 16 Randolph-Macon beat out Farmingdale State and the rain in its opening game of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon. It was a pitchers' duel between two freshmen with Gracie Ellis (New Kent, Va. / New Kent) getting her 20th victory of the season on a four-hit triumph.

THE BASICS

• Score: No. 16 Randolph-Macon 2, Farmingdale State 1
• Venue: R-MC Softball Field
• Records: No. 16 Randolph-Macon 33-9, Farmingdale State 29-4

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Olivia Owens (So., Salisbury, Md. / James M. Bennett) got in scoring position with an extra base hit as she doubled to left center in the bottom of the second inning. Two batters later Natalie Robinson (Jr., Woodbridge, Va. / Forest Park) drove her in on a single to right for an early 1-0 lead.
• The score remained there until the fourth when the Rams tied it up on a pair of base hits. Lyndsey Shaw opened up the frame with a single to left center. After advancing to third on a throwing error, Brooke Walker singled to center to bring her in.
• The tie game didn't last long as the Yellow Jackets' bats came alive in the bottom of the inning. Ellis helped her own cause with a two-out single to center and advanced to second on a single up the middle by Robinson. Sami Davidson (Sr., Stafford, Va. / Brooke Point) followed with what proved to be the game-winning double to score Ellis
• Davidson didn't just get the job done from the plate. Her defense helped prevent a run in the third as well. With an FSC runner on third, a bunt by Alyssa Cowen was scooped by Rilee Baughan (Jr., Warsaw, Va. / Rappahannock) to Davidson who applied the tag to Julianna Prescia to keep the Rams scoreless at the time.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The game featured two of the top pitchers in the nation. Both of them just happened to be freshmen. Between them, they have 33 wins as Ellis improved to 20-5 on the year. Farmingdale State's Ava Shorr suffered just her second loss as she fell to 13-2.
• Ellis limited the Rams' chances by allowing just four hits while striking out seven with no walks.
• Shorr allowed the two runs on seven hits with one strikeout.
• Robinson went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead the Yellow Jackets from the plate. Only Walker for FSC joined her with multiple hits as she equaled her stat line.

UP NEXT

Randolph-Macon will take on MIT in the winner's bracket on Saturday. MIT was a 5-3 winner over Susquehanna earlier in the day. While it is a home game for the Lemon and Black, R-MC will be the visiting team on the scoreboard.