Cleveland, Ohio – The
Robert Morris University softball team got contributions from up and down its lineup Saturday on the opening day of the 2015 season as the Colonials won twice without trailing on Krenzler Field at the CSU Dome Tournament.
RMU dispatched Toledo, 9-0 in five innings, in the opener before defeating Niagara, 3-1, later in the afternoon.
A trio of Colonials notched at least three hits on the day while two more added multiple extra-base hits. Meanwhile, senior
Nicole Sleith and junior
Haileigh Stocks took care of things in the circle as each earned a win.
Freshman
Olivia Lorusso made an immediate impact for RMU as she was a combined 4-for-5 with a walk, two RBI and a run scored, tallying a pair of multi-hit games in the process.
Sophomore
Jordan Gurganus finished 4-for-7 with a steal and two runs scored. She tied her career high with three hits in the second game, the third such occurrence of her career and her 14th overall multi-hit effort.
Junior
Ashley Gerhart went 3-for-5 with a steal, a sacrifice, a RBI and four runs scored Saturday. Gerhart scored three runs in the opening game, surpassing 50 for her career, and the 24th multi-hit outing of her career against Niagara gave her a hit in each of her last nine games, tying a career long.
Seniors
Alexis Schwartzmiller and
Samantha Santillo both doubled twice against Toledo and each added multiple runs batted in and a sacrifice. Schwartzmiller posted a pair of doubles in one game for the third time in her career while Santillo compiled the 23rd multi-hit game of her career.
RMU finished 12-for-24 in the opening game of its season as it reached a single-game team batting average of at least .500 for the first time since April 2012. Of the 12 hits, exactly half were doubles, marking the first time RMU nailed a half dozen two-baggers in over a decade. Eight of RMU's nine starters registered at least one hit and either a run or a RBI.
While the game would become a runaway for the Colonials, it didn't start that way.
Toledo had two on with one out in the top of the first. A single to center followed, but Gerhart's strong throw to the plate was on target, and RMU was eventually able to tag the lead runner out after a rundown. Sleith then got a strikeout to leave two in scoring position.
An error, a sacrifice by sophomore
Stacey Capp and a RBI groundout by senior
Tess Apke provided RMU with its first run of the season in the bottom half.
Toledo used two hits and a walk to load the bases with two outs in the second, but Lorusso fed Santillo on a softly hit ball to get the third out on a force at the plate.
A single by Lorusso in her first collegiate plate appearance was followed one out later by consecutive doubles from Santillo and junior
Kristen Gabelt to plate a pair of runs.
Sleith settled into the game over the final few frames as Toledo did not get more than one runner on base in any of the final three innings.
RMU really broke things open in the third as it used five hits, including three doubles, to extend its lead. Apke doubled to left center to lead off the frame before Stocks shot a single to the opposite field. After a lineout, Gerhart singled to left, and Santillo immediately followed with her second opposite-field double in as many innings. With two outs, Schwartzmiller laced a ground-rule double down the left field line to score pinch-runner
Mary Funderlich, who was making her collegiate debut.
A walk by the Rockets and a single by Apke were the only runners to reach base in the fourth.
Sleith stranded a runner at third with her 10th strikeout to close the fifth inning.
Lorusso dumped a single down the left field line to start the fifth before Gerhart reached on an error while attempting a sacrifice. With two outs, Schwartzmiller ended the proceedings by launching a fly ball on the seventh pitch of her at bat to deep left center for a two-run double.
Sleith's five-hit shutout marked the 15th double-digit strikeout effort of her career. She also recorded the 19th shutout of her career in her 57th win, a figure which moved her into sole possession of third place in Colonial history.
Robert Morris again took the lead right away in its second game of the day, but it would have to battle until the end against the Purple Eagles.
A leadoff single by Gurganus, a steal by Capp after a fielder's choice, and a two-out single to center by Lorusso put RMU up 1-0 after a half-inning.
Niagara loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half, but Lorusso snared a liner, and Stocks then induced a weak groundout to leave the sacks full.
Gerhart singled to center to start the second. After an error, Gabelt delivered a run with a groundout.
Stocks worked around a hit batter in the second by retiring the other three batters she faced that inning.
Lorusso worked a nine-pitch walk in the third, and Niagara led off the bottom half with a single, but neither side would add any further baserunners that inning.
Gerhart singled and stole second to start the fourth but would not advance further.
Stocks set down the side in order in the fourth, the first of three consecutive innings which she accomplished that feat.
Gurganus singled to center to start the fifth and advanced to third after a wild pitch and a groundout. With two outs, Lorusso delivered a RBI single to plate the sophomore.
Neither side had a baserunner again until the seventh when Gurganus singled with one out, but she would not come all the way around.
A pair of infield singles and a walk loaded the bases with two outs for the Purple Eagles. After a single to center that brought home Niagara's first run, Sleith entered and promptly put out the fire by tallying a five-pitch strikeout to close out the contest.
Sleith picked up the 12th save of her career, extending her program record in that category. Meanwhile, Stocks claimed the win after getting 19 of her 20 outs via either strikeout, groundout or infield popups.
Apke pocketed the 33rd multi-hit game of her career in the opener while Santillo produced the 15th multi-RBI effort of her career. Apke became the seventh Colonial to hit 25 doubles in a career Saturday while Santillo posted multiple extra-base hits in the same game for the first time in her career.
Robert Morris will conclude play in Cleveland Sunday afternoon when it plays two more contests. The Colonials are scheduled to play Bucknell at 1:00 p.m. and Bowling Green at 6:00 p.m.
