Riverside, Calif. — Saturday afternoon the UC Riverside Softball Team (9-4) capped off a huge comeback victory with an extra innings walk-off double from sophomore Emma Ramelot as the Highlanders defeated George Washington (6-3) 9-8. UCR found a way to win its 2nd straight game of the Amy S. Harrison Classic despite trailing 6-0 through three innings.

"These players are really resilient and are really connected as a team," Head Coach Nikki Palmer said. "They just don't have a lot of quit in them, so they find a way to grind it out, and they got the win today."

UC Riverside got out to a shaky start allowing 5 runs in just the 2nd inning and a solo home run in the 3rd, putting the Highlanders behind 6-0.

It wasn't until the 4th inning that the bats got going for UCR, but the team was able to string together 6 hits and score 5 runs in the inning to make a significant comeback.

The lead-off hitter was sophomore Sarah Parten who reached on a single just inside the third base line. Freshman Raena Robinson would run for Parten and advance to 2nd on a single from senior Jenae Lockwood. Senior Chelsea Holley would have UCR's 3rd straight hit, bringing in Robinson on a single for the 1st Highlander run of the game. Senior Rebecca Faulkner was next to plate hitting the team's 4th single in a row to bring in Lockwood and cut the lead 6-2. Freshman Cassidy Matthie would run for Faulkner and would reach home thanks to a triple from fellow freshman Seanna Garewal, who smacked a triple and then came all the way around to score on an error to bring the Highlanders within one run of tying the game.

"[Curtan and Ramelot] both hit the ball really well consistently, and they have a lot of power," said Palmer. "To go back-to-back like that, who doesn't love that?"

With two outs in the bottom of the 6th inning, the Highlanders trailed 6-5. Senior Jenna Curtan would walk to the plate and fall behind in the count 1-2. On the 2-2 pitch, Curtan hit the ball over the center field wall to tie the game. Ramelot would follow Curtan hitting a home run of her own to left-center and giving UCR its first lead of the game.

With a run of their own in the top of the 7th inning, the Colonials would force extra innings and take an 8-7 lead after scoring again in the 8th. The Highlanders would need at least one run to stay alive.

With runners on the corners in the bottom of the 8th inning, the heroics of Curtan and Ramelot would rise again. Curtan would tie the game with a single through the left side to score junior Bayleigh Heineman. With Garewal waiting on 2nd base, Ramelot smacked a walk-off double to left-center to give the Highlanders the 9-8 win.

"Today was a great win for us," said Palmer. "But now we are ready to focus on tomorrow and prepare for the next game."

The Highlanders will have a double-header tomorrow to cap off the Amy S. Harrison Classic, facing Montana at 11:30 AM and New Mexico at 2:00 PM in Riverside, CA.