Moon Township, Pa. – Freshman Ashley Gerhart (Imperial, Pa. / West Allegheny), sophomore Samantha Santillo (Ellwood City, Pa. / Lincoln) and sophomore Nicole Sleith (Smithton, Pa. / Yough) of the Robert Morris University softball team all took home a major piece of postseason hardware from the Northeast Conference (NEC), as voted on by the league's head coaches, conference officials announced Thursday morning.
Gerhart was named the league's Rookie of the Year while both sophomores won the same major honor for the second straight season. Santillo was bestowed the league's Golden Glove Award, given to the top defensive player, while Sleith was once again selected as the conference's Pitcher of the Year.
It marks the first time in RMU softball history that three distinct Colonials all won major honors in the same season.
In addition to being named as the NEC's top rookie, Gerhart was voted as an All-NEC First Team outfielder. Furthermore, her classmate Haileigh Stocks (Jamison, Pa. / Central Bucks South) was named All-NEC First Team as a utility player.
Gerhart burst on to the scene in her initial collegiate season and has paced the Colonials in a number of categories. She is hitting a team-leading .346 with a .427 on-base percentage and a .463 slugging percentage. She has started 44 of a possible 46 games, including 42 in center field, and tops the squad in hits (47), walks (19) and stolen bases (10) while ranking second in runs scored (27) and total bases (63). She has served as the Colonials' primary leadoff hitter this season and at one point reached base safely in 16 consecutive games. She raised her game within NEC play as she hit .371 and led the team in on-base percentage (.459), hits (23), runs scored (17), total bases (37) and walks (11). She also blasted three home runs and five doubles in NEC play to post a .597 slugging mark against league foes. Her current average of .346 would rank as the fifth highest by a Colonial in her first season with the program, and her walk total has her tied for seventh in the single-season top 10 at RMU. Gerhart also made some highlight reel catches in the outfield, including a memorable diving grab in the left center gap, which was the defensive gem in a no-hitter by Sleith.
Gerhart becomes the fifth Colonial to win Rookie of the Year, giving Robert Morris the most such awards in NEC history. She is also the eighth distinct Colonial to earn All-NEC First Team honors as an outfielder.
Santillo was again recognized for all the work she does behind the dish to help out the Colonials. She started 40 games at catcher during the regular season and committed just two errors in 326 chances to post a .994 fielding percentage. Only one of her miscues came while she was serving as a catcher. As a result, she currently has the best fielding percentage (.994) in Colonial history among those with at least 250 career chances. She also caught 6-of-10 players attempting to steal within NEC play. In her extended time at catcher this season, including starting all 20 NEC games, Santillo played a role in helping Robert Morris to a 2.03 team ERA, a mark which was lowered to 1.42 in conference play.
Santillo is the first repeat winner of the Golden Glove Award in NEC history and becomes one of only four Colonials to have won more than one major honor in her career.
Sleith has been a driving force in helping the Colonials to a highly successful regular season. She has notched 17 wins while compiling a 1.51 ERA over 31 appearances. She ranks among the top 25 nationally in ERA, strikeouts per seven innings (8.9), hits allowed per seven innings (4.36) and saves (five). She has allowed opponents to hit just .174 off of her and has twirled six shutouts on the year. She surpassed 200 strikeouts for the second straight year, making her one of just three Colonials to ever achieve that feat. Sleith was somehow even stingier against league foes as she won 11 games while posting a 1.07 ERA in over 85 innings in the circle. She allowed opponents to hit just .156 against her and struck out 109 batters against just 16 walks. One of Sleith's most notable feats this season came March 29 in RMU's conference opener when she threw a no-hitter against Mount St. Mary's, racking up 12 strikeouts while facing just one over the minimum. Sleith also tossed a three-hit shutout with a career-best 14 strikeouts against Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion Eastern Illinois. She has already moved into the career top five at RMU in both strikeouts (456) and shutouts (11).
Sleith's win in this category makes her the first Colonial to win Pitcher of the Year more than once and the first Colonial to claim three major awards in a career. She also becomes the fourth Colonial pitcher to be named to multiple All-NEC First Teams.
Stocks was one of Robert Morris' top power threats and also contributed in the circle for RMU in her rookie season. Stocks hit .293 overall in the regular season and led the team in RBI (23), slugging percentage (.543) and extra-base hits (16). She drilled nine doubles, leading the team, and also blasted six homers, including a grand slam in her first collegiate at bat. Stocks was also one of the top Colonials offensively in league play as she hit .328 with a .563 slugging mark, courtesy of nine extra-base hits, a figure which topped the team. In addition to seeing time at her primary position, second base, Stocks held her own in the circle as well. She pitched to the tune of a 2.86 ERA in just over 40 innings of work. One of her pitching highlights came April 3 when she defeated BIG EAST foe and local rival Pittsburgh by allowing one run in a victory, striking out five batters without allowing a walk.
Stocks becomes the third Colonial in history to take home All-NEC First Team honors as a utility player.
Gerhart and Stocks are now just the fifth and sixth Colonials ever to earn All-NEC First Team honors as freshman. It is the first time in school history that RMU has had two freshmen both win All-NEC First Team honors in the same season. This is also the second straight season that multiple RMU freshmen have earned all-conference honors (either at first or second team).
Entering 2013, Robert Morris had never won the same major NEC honor in back-to-back seasons, but the Colonials accomplished the feat three times on Thursday.
Sleith is now the fourth pitcher in NEC history to win Pitcher of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Her win in 2013 marks the fifth season in which a Colonial has won the honor.
Santillo and Sleith become the first two Colonials to win the same major NEC award more than once.
The Colonials will remain at home for the league tournament as they will host LIU Brooklyn in their opening round game. RMU, the Blackbirds, Central Connecticut State and Monmouth will be the participants in the double-elimination event.
