Kent, Ohio – The
Robert Morris University softball team dropped its non-conference finale to Kent State, 11-3 in five innings, on a raw Wednesday afternoon at the Diamond at Dix.
Junior
Haileigh Stocks led RMU at the plate by going 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Stocks, who posted two doubles in a game for the first time in her career, raised her season total for two-baggers to seven and her career mark to 24, moving into eighth place in Colonial history.
Junior
Kristen Gabelt went 1-for-2 Wednesday with a two-run homer. The blast was her team-leading eighth of the season, and 12th of her career, making her just the seventh Colonial ever to register at least eight long balls in a season.
Freshman
Olivia Lorusso reached base safely in her two plate appearances against Kent State as she tallied a single and a walk on the afternoon.
The game started well for the Colonials as they jumped out to a quick lead.
Freshman
Kecia Sharp nailed a double off the center field fence with one away to get things started for RMU. Stocks followed by doubling into the right center gap to put two runners in scoring position. Senior
Tess Apke then delivered despite being down in the count 0-2 as her sacrifice fly to center put the visitors on top.
Kent State answered the tally right away in the bottom half with a leadoff homer to right center. A pair of groundouts and a popup closed the frame.
Lorusso singled to lead off the second but would get no further.
The Golden Flashes managed a two-out walk in the second, but junior
Lauren Hackett made a couple of nice stabs of line drives at first base to help RMU get out of the inning.
Sophomore
Jordan Gurganus hit a hot shot off the third baseman's glove with one away in the third inning, but RMU would not bring her around.
The Golden Flashes took the lead for good in the home half of the third. A leadoff walk and a double put two in scoring position with no outs. Kent State took the lead on a RBI groundout on which sophomore
Stacey Capp made a fantastic diving stop to her left to snare the ball and get the out at first. After a second out and a walk, a Colonial miscue kept the inning going for the hosts, allowing Kent State to tack on three unearned runs.
Stocks drilled a double into the left center gap to open the fourth. One out later, Gabelt launched a two-run blast over everything in left field. Lorusso followed with a walk to bring the tying run to the plate, but a fielder's choice and a lineout followed.
Kent State put the game away in the home half, and it started the inning by loading the bases without hitting a ball out of the infield. An error and two bunt singles were followed by a back-breaking grand slam. A walk and a single, ruled just fair down the third base line, were followed by a pair of groundouts. A double by the hosts then closed the scoring.
RMU was not able to produce a run in the fifth as the Colonials went in order.
Apke's RBI was not only her team-leading 28th of the season but also the 94th of her career, moving her into a tie for third place in Colonial history in that category.
Stocks' multi-hit outing was her seventh of the season, and 18th of her career, while Gabelt's multi-RBI performance was her sixth of the season, the 10th of her career. Stocks has now reached base safely in 10 consecutive games, becoming the fifth distinct Colonial this season to have such a stretch reach double figures.
Sharp's double was the first extra-base hit of her rookie season while she also scored the first run of her collegiate career Wednesday.
Robert Morris will resume Northeast Conference action this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders, the first of which will take place at Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Schedule Note: The teams had previously agreed to play only a single game instead of a doubleheader.
