Box Score

Moon Township, Pa. – Senior Geena Badolato (Mt. Lebanon, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon) of the Robert Morris University softball team put forth a strong effort in the circle Monday afternoon, but the Colonials dropped a 2-0 decision to Saint Francis on a seasonable day at the North Athletic Complex.
 
Badolato allowed four hits, all singles, and zero earned runs while going all seven frames for RMU. She notched five strikeouts without walking a batter while throwing 80 of her 112 pitches for strikes. She forced the Red Flash to repeatedly knock pitches on the infield dirt as she registered 14 groundouts on the afternoon.
 
Senior Chelsea Siar (Glenshaw, Pa. / Shaler Area) was the beneficiary of many of the groundouts as she tallied eight assists in the game, the most by a Colonial in nearly eight years.
 
Sophomore Ashley Gerhart (Imperial, Pa.  / West Allegheny) went 2-for-3 on the day for Robert Morris to post her fifth multi-hit outing of the season and the 18th of her career.
 
Saint Francis took advantage of a slow RMU start to get on the board early. The Red Flash used two Colonial miscues, sandwiched around a fielder's choice, to strike first. Badolato did well to limit the damage as she got a groundout and then a swinging strikeout to strand a runner at third.
 
Freshman Jordan Gurganus (Chesapeake, Va. / Hickory) started the bottom half with a single and was moved to second on a sacrifice by senior Chelsea Evans (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Riverside), but she was then caught trying to take an extra base. Junior Tess Apke (Mt. Lebanon, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon) tried to get things restarted with a single to center. Junior Samantha Santillo (Ellwood City, Pa. / Lincoln) then had a fantastic at bat, working a walk on 12 pitches, but a fielder's choice ended the frame.
 
Badolato worked around a one-out single to center in the second by retiring the next two batters, via strikeout and a groundout to third.
 
Gerhart dumped a single into left center with one down, and an error by the Red Flash would extend the inning momentarily, but a fly ball to center closed the frame.
 
Each side was retired in order in the third.
 
Saint Francis used a leadoff hit batter and a sacrifice to get a runner in scoring position with one down in the fourth. Badolato would end up stranding a pair of runners in scoring position by getting a groundout to second.
 
After each of the next two half-innings went in order, Gerhart reached first to open the fifth on a Red Flash error, but she would advance no further.
 
Saint Francis added an insurance run in the sixth as an error, a sacrifice, a groundout and two-out single plated a run.
 
Santillo singled to right center with two down in the sixth to reach base for the second time, but a groundout stopped RMU's chance.
 
Badolato stranded a runner at third in the seventh by getting a groundout to Siar.
 
Gerhart poked a one-out single in the seventh to bring the tying run to the plate, but a lineout to left and fielder's choice closed the contest.
 
With its first NEC series in the books, Robert Morris will take a step out of conference play for the next two days. The Colonials will be right back in action Tuesday afternoon as they head a few miles east to play Atlantic Coast Conference foe Pittsburgh.