Moon Township, Pa. ? The Robert Morris University softball team split a pair of games against Northeast Conference opponent Monmouth Saturday afternoon at the North Athletic Complex. The Colonials (21-7 / 9-3 NEC) took game one, 7-2, before losing game two, 5-4, in eight innings.
After Monmouth took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning, freshman Annie Dubovec (Chargin Falls, Ohio / Kenston) gave RMU the lead for good with a grand slam. Robert Morris added two more runs in the third to make 6-2 when Lauren Nisivoccia (Nutley, N.J. / Mount St. Domininc) scored on a wild pitch and Kristin McDaniel (Yardley, Pa. / Pennsbury) drove in Brooke Panepinto (Belle Vernon, Pa. / Belle Vernon) with a sacrifice fly. Camille Kline (Titusville, Pa. / Titusville) added an insurance run with a home run to right field in the fourth.
Brenna Reed (Carnegie, Pa. / Carnegie) picked up her eighth victory of the season, tallying five strikeouts and allowing two runs on six hits.
Robert Morris fell to the Hawks in game two of the afternoon, 5-4, in eight innings. Trailing, 1-0, in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Colonials scored four unanswered runs. Panepinto opened the fourth inning with a single down the left field line, which was followed by a Reed bunt single and a Susan Perich (Center, Pa. / Center) single. With the bases loaded Kristin McDaniel (Yardley, Pa. / Pennsbury) drove in a pair of runs with a single and an error by the left fielder.
Monmouth put a pair on the board in the fifth, giving the Hawks a 3-1 lead, but the Colonials answered back with a pair of runs of their own. Jessica Calderone (Wilmington, Del. / St. Marks) led off the inning with a single and a stolen base before Nisivoccia singled, advancing Calderone to third. Panepinto was intentionally walked, and Reed hit a two-run double to give RMU its only lead of the game, 4-3.
Monmouth scored one run in the seventh and another in the eighth to take game two, 5-4, in extra innings. Lindsey Moates (Ocala, Fla. / Forest) started the game for the Colonials, pitching five innings and allowing three runs on seven hits. Reed suffered the loss, allowing two runs on five hits over two innings.
The Colonials close out the home portion of their schedule Sunday, April 20, when they host NEC opponent Mount St. Mary's in a 10:00 a.m. doubleheader.
