Moon Township, Pa. – Head coach Craig Coleman, M.D., of the Robert Morris University softball team has announced the signing of five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent (NLI).
 
Erin Hershman (Evans City, Pa. / Mars Area), Olivia Lorusso (Eighty Four, Pa. / Canon-McMillan), Nicholette Maderitz (Girard, Ohio / Girard), Kristen Pray (Port Royal, Pa. / Juniata) and Kecia Sharp (Moore, Okla. / Mount Saint Mary) will join the Colonials for the 2014-15 academic year.
 
While the class is notable for its quantity, Coleman believes the quality of the newcomers will be just as significant.
 
"We're very pleased to bring in such a talented group of softball players for fall 2014," Coleman said. "It's a very diverse group, including a lot of home-run power, a lot of speed and a first-class pitcher. We expect several of these players to make an immediate impact."
 
After setting a freshman home run record for Mars in 2011, Hershman has continued to impact the game in multiple ways for the Planets. The two-time all-section honoree hit .477 for Mars in 2012 before posting a .414 mark with a .566 on-base percentage and a .998 slugging percentage in her junior season. Hershman blasted nine homers for the Planets last year and was a perfect 14-for-14 on steals. The outfielder has also been effective on the travel ball scene. Playing with one of the Pittsburgh Power teams this past summer, she hit .398 with a .851 slugging percentage while adding 13 homers and 26 steals on 28 attempts. Hershman, who will be playing for the Team Pennsylvania Cyclones going forward, has hit 27 homers during the 2013 calendar year, combining high school and travel competitions. She is also 89-for-93 on stolen bases in the past three years when combining all competitions.
 
"Erin is a player with a rare combination of great power and great speed," Coleman said. "She hits home runs on a regular basis and is also able to steal bases with her speed. She plays a good outfield and will definitely help us right away."
 
Lorusso claimed all-state honorable mention honors while helping Canon-McMillan to the AAAA Pennsylvania state championship and a 25-1 record this past season. The third baseman hit .390 with an .857 slugging percentage and led the title-winning Big Macs in both home runs (seven) and RBI (35) in 2013. Lorusso also came through in key moments as her two-run blast in a state tournament game provided her team with the margin of victory as it avenged its only loss of the season en route to the first state title in school history. She was named to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 10 list following the 2013 season which also saw the Big Macs win the WPIAL championship. Lorusso was named all-section by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and to The Almanac's Diamond Dozen list in 2012 as she helped Canon-McMillan win the WPIAL championship and reach the state semifinals. Lorusso competes for Team Pennsylvania Cyclones on the travel ball scene.
 
"Olivia is an extremely powerful hitter, with a number of tape-measure home runs to her credit," Coleman said. "We expect her to supply instant offense to our lineup. She is also a very good third baseman with an accurate and strong arm."
 
After earning an All-Northeastern Ohio award after her freshman season, Maderitz has continued to make an impact from the circle. She led the Indians to their first district championship game in 2012 while posting a 1.18 ERA and setting the school's single-season strikeout record (258). She has claimed multiple all-conference honors for Girard while tallying 623 strikeouts in her first three years of high school action. Maderitz, who became the first Girard pitcher to throw a perfect game in 2013, also took home a major honor at the Queen of Diamonds Showcase at Kent State last January when she was selected as the MVP of the entire event, which featured more than 300 players. Maderitz has competed for the Valley Extreme travel team and helped the squad earn a top-25 finish at the 2012 ASA/USA National event in Montgomery, Ala. Maderitz will be the first Division I softball player produced by Girard High School.
 
"Nicholette has some of the best ball movement we've seen in an incoming pitcher in years," Coleman said. "She has a full assortment of pitches and throws them all with great confidence. We expect her to step into our rotation and make an immediate impact on the mound."
 
Pray has claimed multiple all-conference honors while putting up sparkling numbers thus far in her high school career. The outfielder has hit .475 with a .567 on-base percentage in her first three seasons playing for the Indians. She has racked up 76 runs scored, 50 RBI and 30 extra-base hits in those three campaigns. Pray has also performed well with her travel team, PA Krunch Gold. In 2012-13 with Krunch, Pray hit .425 with a .513 on-base percentage and scored 61 runs in 76 games played. She also produced nine hits in 18 at bats at the 2013 Premier Girls Fastpitch National Championship. Pray also scored seven runs in seven games while helping the Krunch to a winning record at the event. Pray is believed to be the first player from Juniata High School to have signed to play Division I softball.
 
"Kristen is an outstanding outfielder defensively," Coleman said. "She gets a great jump on the ball and covers a lot of ground due to her outstanding speed. She is also a very accomplished running slapper and gets on base at a very high rate. She will be a force in the lineup offensively and defensively."
 
Sharp started at shortstop in her freshman year as Mount St. Mary won the 3A state championship. She also helped the Rockets win district championships in both 2011 and 2012. Sharp, who can play both infield and outfield, has earned multiple all-district, all-conference and first team all-region honors in her career. In her recently completed senior campaign this past fall, Sharp hit .463 with a .495 on-base percentage while leading Mount St. Mary in steals, doubles and triples. Sharp has competed with the Oklahoma Athletics Gold travel team and helped the squad to a ninth place finish at the 2013 ASA Gold Nationals.
 
"Kecia is an extremely versatile player," Coleman said. "She is an accomplished infielder and outfielder and plays on a highly competitive summer team in Oklahoma. She is also a running slapper who can also hit the ball with surprising power. She will help us in many ways."
 
Robert Morris became just the second school in league history to finish in first place in the Northeast Conference for three consecutive seasons in 2013 as it posted a 16-4 conference mark last season. RMU won at least 30 games for the second consecutive year and reset the program record for combined wins in back-to-back seasons (65) in 2012-13. Three Colonials won a major postseason award from the NEC while a fourth was selected All-NEC First Team in 2013. Each of those student-athletes is returning for the 2014 season.
 
After the season concluded, Robert Morris was recognized for posting the fourth-highest team grade point average (3.56) among all Division I softball programs during the 2012-13 academic year. That continued an impressive trend as RMU is the only Division I school in the country to have its softball program rank among the top five in team GPA in each of the past five years.