Eastern Kentucky Starters
Drafton (2B); Haynes (CF); Davis (DP); Duncan (3B); Smith (1B); Mathis (LF); Billups (C); Mariscal (SS); Knox (RF); Bethal (P)

Rhode Island Starters
Hernandez (CF); Ialongo (3B); Zawistowski (1B); Torres (SS); Knarr (DP); Fairbanks (LF); McNally (RF); Maleitzke (C); Miller (2B); Hibbard (P)

How It Happened
Ashley Hibbard pitched six shutout innings and Rhode Island won its second game of the day, knocking off Eastern Kentucky 3-0 Friday afternoon at the GATA Challenge.

Rhode Island (3-2) jumped out early against EKU starter Bay;e Hunnicutt. Hannah Hernandez led off the home half of the first with a single. She advanced to second on a single by Becca Zawistowski. A defensive error on the play allowed Hernandez to come all the way around to score.

Julianne Torres followed with a double to right center that drove in Zawistowki with the second run for the Rams. Katie Knarr then brought Torres home with a single through the left side that gave Rhody a 3-0 lead.

Hibbard did the rest, blanking Eastern Kentucky (4-7) on two hits. She struck out five batters while picking up her first win of the season.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Ashley Hibbard (1-0) had her second straight dominant start, throwing 7.0 shutout innings.
• Sarah Trosin hurled a scoreless inning to earn the save.
• In 11.1 innings of work, Hibbard has not allowed any runs and has struck out 11 batters while walking just two.
• Hannah Hernandez singled, walked and scored her fourth run of the season.
• Becca Zawistowski singled twice and scored one run, extending her hitting streak to five games in the process.
• Julianne Torres doubled, singled, scored once and had one RBI.
• Brooke Fairbanks had two singles.
• Katie Knarr singled and drove in one run.

Up Next
Rhode Island plays two more games at the GATA Challenge Saturday, Feb. 21. The Rams play host Georgia Southern on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. and then have a rematch with Tennessee Tech at 5:30 p.m.