Moon Township, Pa. - Senior Kayla Crooks (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Brashear) lined a full-count, opposite-field single in the bottom of the 10th inning to plate freshman Chelsea Siar (Glenshaw, Pa. / Shaler Area) with the winning run as the Robert Morris University softball team swept a key Northeast Conference (NEC) doubleheader from Quinnipiac in contrasting styles, 11-1 (5) and 3-2 (10), to take complete control of their own postseason destiny at the North Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon.
Of the 10 NEC schools eligible for the upcoming conference tournament, the Colonials are now in first place with an 11-5 league mark after handing the Bobcats their sixth and seventh conference losses of the season.
Crooks' walk-off single was a fitting end to the day as the Colonials held their Senior Day ceremony in advance of the games and honored Crooks and classmate Annie Dubovec (Chagrin Falls, Ohio / Kenston).
Robert Morris has now claimed a walk-off victory in four of its last six home games against league foes and has now won its last six extra-inning games that it has played against NEC opponents.
Junior Jaci Timko (Houston, Pa. / Chartiers Houston) was an offensive force for Robert Morris as she went 4-for-6 with two home runs, including a game-tying shot in Game Two, and also made a fine defensive play in the nightcap to keep the Bobcats off the scoreboard in extra innings.
Junior Alexa Bryson (Greensburg, Pa. / Latrobe Area) was dominant in the circle for the Colonials as she threw all 10 frames in Game Two, the longest outing of her career, and allowed just one earned run while striking out 11 and not issuing a single walk to improve to 4-1 all-time against Quinnipiac. It was her sixth double-digit strikeout performance of the season and the 20th of her career.
The Bobcats jumped ahead in the first half-inning of the day with a two-out single to take a 1-0 lead, but RMU answered in a big way in the home half by scoring five times once two were gone.
Redshirt junior Jessica Calderone (Wilmington, Del / St. Mark's) started the rally with an infield single. A fielder's choice and a walk by Siar loaded the bases with two outs. The Colonials then took advantage of some mistakes by the Bobcats as a pair of wild pitches, the latter of which was also ball four to Crooks, allowed RMU to grab the lead. That prompted Quinnipiac to make an early pitching change, but Timko ensured it provided no relief as she blasted a three-run, opposite-field shot to left to provide Robert Morris with a four-run advantage.
After Bryson struck out the side in the second, RMU went back to work on offense. Freshman backstop Chelsea Evans (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Riverside) singled to left to start the frame and junior Allie Patton (Poland, Ohio / Poland), the national leader in sacrifice hits per game entering the week, put down a fine sacrifice bunt and also reached base via a fielder's choice. Evans came around to score when a throw to first to get Calderone was off the mark, which also sent Patton to third. The junior stole home as the Bobcats unsuccessfully tried to throw out Calderone trying to swipe second. With two outs, sophomore Maritza Jimenez (Vineland, N.J. / Vineland) and Siar walked consecutively to load the bases, and then Calderone came home on another wild pitch.
Freshman Geena Badolato (Mt. Lebanon, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon) entered the game to pitch for Robert Morris in the third and retired the side in order on three groundouts, two of which came back to the circle. The Colonials continued to pour it on in the third as freshman Cassie Show (Connellsville, Pa. / Connellsville) doubled down the left field line to start the inning. After she took third on a groundout by Evans, Patton put down a beautiful squeeze, scoring a hustling Show without a play, and reached base as well. Calderone followed with a walk to move Patton to second before Dubovec drilled a single up the middle to score the lead runner. Jimenez walked to load the bases, and with two outs, Crooks got a RBI with a bases-loaded walk to push the Colonial margin to 10.
Badolato kept the door closed as she threw three hitless, shutout innings to record the victory. Patton went 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the opener.
The nightcap was a classic pitcher's duel with runs coming at a premium.
Each team put a runner on in the first, and the Colonials put two on with one away in the second, but neither team could break through until the third. After an error kept the inning alive, a double to the fence in left gave Quinnipiac a 1-0 lead.
While Robert Morris was trying to figure out one of the league's top pitchers, Bryson kept the Colonials in it by holding the Bobcats scoreless in the fourth and fifth.
Timko gave RMU life by leading off the fifth with a blast to right on an 0-2 pitch to tie the game, 1-1. That homer moved her past her current assistant coach, Lauren Dickinson, on RMU's all-time home run list as the junior now stands alone in third place with 18. Although the next two batters were retired, the Colonials grabbed the lead with one swing as Show nailed her second-career homer, a shot to center, to put Robert Morris up, 2-1.
After a quick sixth, Quinnipiac was down to its final two outs, but received a game-tying homer courtesy of Ashley Heiberger. Bryson responded by getting the next two hitters to send it to the home half knotted, 2-2.
Timko reached second with two outs in the seventh, but RMU was unable to deliver her home.
Quinnipiac put runners on first and second with two gone in the eighth, but Bryson got a three-pitch strikeout to throw water on the fire. Robert Morris could not find the winning run in the eighth, so the game continued into the late afternoon.
The Bobcats got a runner to second with one out in the ninth, but Bryson worked out of trouble and ended the frame by making a fine defensive play to get a speedy Bobcat runner, preserving the tie. The Colonials were unable to push one across in the bottom half, sending the game to the 10th, in which the international tiebreaker rules take effect.
After Quinnipiac put down a sacrifice bunt to start the 10th, sending its runner to third, Bryson got the second out by getting a bouncer to Calderone. The Bobcats seemed to have taken the lead with a hard liner toward left center, but Timko made a very nice running catch deep in the outfield to keep Quinnipiac off the board.
With Siar placed on second to start the bottom half, Timko did her job by putting down a sacrifice and moving the freshman to third. Crooks followed with her walk-off single as the Colonials rushed the field in jubilation.
Timko went 3-for-3 in the nightcap and reached base four times while Crooks also reached base on multiple occasions. Patton was 3-for-7 combined for the day with a sacrifice, two runs scored and a RBI.
With its Game One victory coupled with its 12-9 win over St. Bonavanture April 20, Robert Morris tallied back-to-back games with double-digit run totals for the first time since April 2-6, 2007.
The Colonials will continue their closing stretch of 10 games in nine days by traveling west Monday to take on Cleveland State in a non-conference doubleheader. The first pitch of Game One is slated for 3:00 p.m.
