Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University softball team received two brilliant pitching performances by a pair of rookies to close out the regular season with a sweep of visiting Fairleigh Dickinson in a Northeast Conference doubleheader Sunday at a breezy North Athletic Complex.
RMU had already secured a postseason berth before play began Sunday, but the Colonials did move up one spot on the seed line with their efforts against the Knights. Robert Morris will be the third seed in the upcoming NEC Tournament, which will be hosted by top seed LIU Brooklyn.
Freshmen
Kaitlin Ellzy and
Laura Coulter each twirled a shutout Sunday to lead the Colonials to the sweep.
Ellzy allowed just two singles and a walk while striking out four in the win. The blanking was the first seven-inning shutout of her career.
Coulter scattered five hits in her effort while not issuing a walk. She threw 57 of 73 pitches for strikes in spinning her first collegiate shutout.
Junior
Stacey Capp and sophomore
Olivia Lorusso led the RMU offense Sunday, and both tied a 13-year old defensive record.
Capp finished a combined 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, three RBI, a run scored and a sacrifice. Her pair of two-baggers give her a team-leading 11 on the year, tied for seventh in RMU single-season history.
Lorusso went 4-for-5 with a walk, a RBI and a run scored Sunday. She now has four multi-hit efforts on the season and 10 in her career.
Capp and Lorusso both reached 121 assists this season with their performances Sunday, matching the single-season school record that was set in 2003.
Ellzy kept RMU deadlocked in the opener until the Colonial offense could break through.
Ellzy got a pair of groundouts to Lorusso sandwiched around a strikeout in the top of the first.
Senior
Kristen Gabelt singled with two outs in the bottom half but would not advance.
Fairleigh Dickinson bounced a single through the infield to begin the second frame, but junior
Jordan Gurganus gunned down to Capp to catch the runner stealing. A two-out single later in the inning would prove no matter as Ellzy got a bouncer to Capp to end the threat.
Lorusso lined a sharp single to left with one away in the second but would no move up any further.
Each of the next three half-innings was of the 1-2-3 variety.
With one down in the bottom of the fourth, senior
Haileigh Stocks blasted the first pitch she saw over the fence down the line in left.
Ellzy worked around a two-out walk in the fifth by getting the next batter to pop up to Stocks on the infield.
Freshman
Abrielle McCartney knocked a single to center to begin the home half of the fifth. A miscue on the ensuing sacrifice attempt by Capp put two runners in scoring position. A passed ball would then bring home a run before the first out of the inning. Gurganus then picked up a base hit with a bunt to put two runners on base once again. Capp would come home to score another insurance run when the next batter hit a grounder on the infield.
Ellzy got a pair of groundouts to the left side of the infield and a fly ball to center in the sixth inning.
Senior
Ashley Gerhart singled to left center with one down in the bottom half, and Lorusso followed by shooting a single to center. With two outs, Capp poked an opposite-field double to bring home Gerhart.
In the seventh, Ellzy got a pair of groundouts to Capp sandwiched around a fly ball to right to finish off the shutout.
Stocks' blast was her eighth of the season and the 17th of her career. She moved into a tie for 10th in career home runs at RMU and into a tie for seventh in single-season long balls.
Robert Morris scored a little earlier in the second game, and Coulter ensured that it would stand up.
Coulter got a foul out on the infield, a strikeout and a groundout to retire the side in order in the top of the first.
Gurganus singled to lead off RMU's half, and senior
Lauren Hackett promptly sacrificed her along. Gurganus would move to third on a wild pitch, but she would be left there.
Coulter worked around a two-out double in the second as she got the next batter to fly out to right.
Gerhart and Lorusso both nailed singles to center to begin the second. McCartney then moved both along with a sacrifice before Capp doubled to the warning track in right center to bring home both runners. Freshman
Taylor Bartlow then walked, but RMU would not add on any further.
Coulter set down the Knights 1-2-3 in the third on a groundout, an infield popup and a strikeout.
Gabelt drilled a double off the fence in left center to begin the home half. Lorusso would work a full-count walk with two outs, but both runners were left on base.
Coulter had a nice 1-2-3 inning in the fourth as Capp made a fine running grab on a bloop in shallow left during the frame.
Capp worked a full-count walk in the home half and was sacrificed to second by Bartlow. However, a groundout and a lineout to right followed.
FDU had an opportunity in the fifth as the first two batters singled. Coulter then got the next three batters to hit into outs on grounders in the infield to keep the Knights off the board.
Stocks singled to center with one away in the bottom half and moved to second on a groundout. With two outs, Lorusso singled to right center to bring home the senior.
The Knights had a leadoff single on a grounder through the right side in the sixth. RMU would then force the lead runner on consecutive ground balls before a foul popup ended the frame.
Capp singled to left center with one away in the home half and was moved along by Bartlow with a sacrifice. However, a groundout ended the inning.
Coulter got the first two batters in the seventh before a double prolonged the game by one batter. The rookie would get a routine popup to Capp to finish off the sweep.
Gurganus reached 60 hits for the season Sunday to become just the second Colonial ever to hit that mark in at least two seasons. She is currently eighth in single-season hits at RMU.
Capp contributed her 11th multi-hit effort of the season in the nightcap while adding her fourth multi-RBI outing of 2016.
Gabelt's double was her seventh of the season and the 23rd of her career, moving her into a tie for 10th in all-time two-baggers at RMU.
Robert Morris will open its postseason this Thursday, May 12, against Saint Francis.
