Clearwater, Fla. – Superstition can be a powerful and, yet, sometimes frighteningly real phenomenon. The Robert Morris University softball team put on their white pants Saturday afternoon and improved to 5-0 this season when wearing their plain pantaloons with a 7-4 victory over Maine and a 6-4 win against Delaware State at the South Florida Under Armour Classic in Clearwater, Fla. The victories move the Colonials record to 6-14 overall.
 
Abrielle McCartney and Natalie Higgins each collected four hits and scored three times on the day. McCartney had a double and a triple while Higgins hit her second home run of the season, recorded two doubles and knocked in three runs.
 
The most dramatic hit of the day came off the bat of Madison Riggle. The sophomore's first career home run was a grand slam that turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead against Delaware State. As if that wasn't enough, she threw five innings of relief, striking out four, to collect her third win of the season.
 
In the first game of the morning, Maine jumped out to a 2-0 lead as five of the first six batters reached safely. Singles by Alyssa Derrick and Maddie Decker pushed the runs home.
 
Robert Morris did not have to wait long for the magic of the white pants to start working. Higgins hit a leadoff homer, her second of the season, to cut the margin in half. McCartney then tripled and Lorusso pushed a single through the hole on the left side to tie the score, 2-2.
 
RMU continued the offensive production in the second inning, scoring three runs on four hits. Miller opened the frame with a single and would score when Higgins singled to put the Colonials ahead for good. An error allowed Higgins to score before a double by Olivia Lorusso and a single from Bridget Guiney pushed home McCartney to make it a 5-2 lead.
 
The Blacks Bears scored twice with two outs in the fifth, chasing RMU starter Kaitlin Ellzy after 4.2 innings of work in which she struck out four batters. Freshman Kaitlyn Clark got out the jam and preserved the lead. Kristen Pray and McCartney drove in a pair of insurance runs in the sixth and Laura Coulter recorded the final five outs to save the 7-4 victory.
 
The afternoon tilt against Delaware State started in the same fashion as the Colonials fell behind 2-0 in the first inning. A sacrifice fly by Vanessa Washington pushed the Hornets lead to 3-0 in the third inning.
 
The white pants, however, still held some much needed juju. RMU would score six times, all with two out, in the third. McCartney doubled to left center and eventually scored on Guiney's infield single. Two walks later brought Riggle to the plate with the bases loaded. The sophomore worked a 3-1 count before launching a sky shot to right field that cleared the fence and the bases, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead. The Colonials tacked on another run on Higgins second double of the contest.
 
Delaware State scored once more in the sixth inning, but Ellzy was able to close the door and record the save. Riggle pitched five innings of relief to secure the win, her third of the season.
 
Robert Morris wraps up its Florida trip Sunday, March 11, when they play Keystone State rival St. Joseph's at 9:00 a.m.