Moon Township, Pa. – Sophomore Tess Apke (Mt. Lebanon, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon) came through with a clutch, two-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning to deliver freshman Ashley Gerhart (Imperial, Pa. / West Allegheny) with the game's lone run as the Robert Morris University softball team defeated LIU Brooklyn, 1-0, in the opening game of a Northeast Conference (NEC) doubleheader Saturday afternoon at a windy and chilly North Athletic Complex.

The Blackbirds bounced back in the nightcap to split the doubleheader with a 7-3 victory.

The victory in the opener marked the seventh time this season that RMU has tallied the winning run in its final at bat.

Sophomore Nicole Sleith (Smithton, Pa. / Yough) went the distance in the circle in the opener and tossed a three-hit shutout. She struck out 11 batters without allowing a walk or hitting a batter. It marked her third double-digit strikeout effort of the season and the seventh of her career and also allowed her to become the sixth Colonial in history to hit 400 career strikeouts. Sleith, who threw her fifth shutout of the season and 10th of her career, has now allowed one earned run in her last six starts combined, each of which has been at least seven innings in length.

Senior Maritza Jimenez (Vineland, N.J. / Vineland) was 3-for-5 on the day with a walk and homered for the second time in RMU's past four games. She tallied the 14th multi-hit game of her career in the opener.

Freshman Kristen Gabelt (Ligonier, Pa. / Ligonier Valley) matched Jimenez's 3-for-5 showing at the plate and added a double and a steal. She posted her fifth multi-hit game of the season in the nightcap and also delivered a crucial outfield assist to help cut down a runner at the plate in the opening game.

Freshman Lauren Hackett (Glenshaw, Pa. / Shaler Area) also added a trio of hits on the day, including a double, and tallied the fourth multi-hit game of her rookie campaign.

Sleith worked around a one-out single in the first half-inning of the day before RMU got its first chance at bat.

Freshman Haileigh Stocks (Jamison, Pa. / Central Bucks South) roped a double into the left center gap on the 10th pitch of her at bat with two away in the first, but a lineout ended the inning.

After Sleith struck out the side in order in the second, Jimenez led off with a single to center. An error, a fielder's choice and a steal would move two runners into scoring position with two outs, but a groundout followed for the final out.

Sleith again retired the side in order in the third. Hackett would single on a line into right center with one out, and then move to second on a groundout, but would be left there.

After a leadoff infield single by LIU in the fourth, the Blackbirds had their best chance of the game. Their following batter knocked a double into the left center gap. Gabelt sprinted after the ball, hit the cutoff, junior shortstop Cassie Show (Connellsville, Pa. / Connellsville), and Show then gunned the ball to the dish where sophomore Samantha Santillo (Ellwood City, Pa. / Lincoln) retrieved the throw and slapped on the tag for the out. Sleith would strike out the next two batters swinging to leave a runner in scoring position.

Each of the next two half-innings were of the 1-2-3 variety.

Gabelt led off the fifth with a single and moved to second on a nicely executed sacrifice by Show but would be left on base.

The only baserunner in the next two innings came courtesy of a two-out single by Jimenez in the sixth, but a Colonial pinch-runner was then caught stealing.

Sleith retired LIU in order in the eighth on a pair of strikeouts and a groundout that she handled herself.

Gerhart nailed a double on a line into the left field corner with one out in the bottom half. Hackett followed by knocking a 1-2 pitch up the middle for a single to put runners on the corners. Then with two outs in the inning, Apke hit a groundball in the hole at shortstop on a two-strike pitch and legged out an infield hit to bring home Gerhart with the winning run.

The Blackbirds' offense kicked into gear in the nightcap, helping them earn a split of the day's games.

Two infield singles and a groundout put two Blackbirds in scoring position in the top of the first, but a popup ended that chance.

Hackett ripped a double into the left center gap with one out in the home half and quickly moved to third on a wild pitch, but back-to-back foulouts ended the inning.

A single and a walk gave LIU two more baserunners in the second, but a strikeout would leave the pair on base.

Santillo lined a single into left with two outs in the second, and Gabelt soon followed by ringing a double into the right center gap to put two Colonials in scoring position, but a groundout kept the game scoreless.

LIU could only manage a two-out single in the top of the third.

Gerhart dumped a single into left center to start the third and would take second on a passed ball with one out, but the rookie would advance no further.

LIU struck first in the fourth inning as a pair of Colonial miscues, a single and a home run by the Blackbirds quickly amounted to four runs for the guests.

After Jimenez walked to open the bottom half, junior Chelsea Siar (Glenshaw, Pa. / Shaler Area) absolutely crushed the first pitch halfway up the hill beyond the fence in right center to cut the RMU deficit to two runs. Santillo then followed by drilling a double to right center. One out later, Show singled up the middle to put runners on the corners, but Robert Morris would be unable to further cut into the lead.

A two-out double by the Blackbirds would account for the only baserunner of the fifth inning.

LIU broke the game open in the sixth as it used five singles, three of which came consecutively, to add three big insurance runs.

Jimenez would homer to left center with one out in the bottom half, but no one else reached base in that half inning.

RMU used a 6-4-3 double play to end the top half of the seventh, and although Gabelt led off the bottom half with a single, the Colonials were not able to muster up a sufficient rally.

The long ball was the fifth of the season for Siar and the 16th of her career, moving her into a tie for seventh place on RMU's all-time home run list.

Santillo notched her fifth multi-hit game of the season, and second in the past four games, and the 17th of her career in the nightcap.

Seven distinct Colonials had an extra-base hit Saturday.

The Colonials will be right back on the field in fewer than 24 hours. Robert Morris will be in action Sunday, April 21, when it hosts Wagner at Noon in a NEC doubleheader.