RMU @ Blue Hose Invitational
Friday, Feb. 7, 2020 – Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020
PC Softball Complex • Clinton, S.C.
 
Cracker Jack & Sunflower Seeds

- The Robert Morris University softball team opens its 2020 season by traveling to Clinton, S.C., to take part in the Blue Hose Invitational, which is hosted by Presbyterian College. The Colonials open the invite by facing the host Blue Hose Friday for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader at the PC Softball Complex.
 
- RMU will face Norfolk State (9:00 a.m.) and South Carolina State (11:15 a.m.) Saturday, Feb. 8, before closing out the tournament Sunday, Feb. 9, with a 10:00 a.m. contest against the Spartans.
 
- Led by second-year head coach Jexx Varner, Robert Morris returns seven starters and 13 letterwinners in 2020, including three Colonials that earned All-NEC honors in 2019.
 
- Senior Natalie Higgins earned a spot on the 2019 All-NEC Second Team after hitting .303 (40-for-132) in 42 games while tying for the team lead in home runs (7) and RBI (23). She enters her final season of eligibility in 2020 with a career average of .313 (130-for-417) to go along with 29 doubles, 13 home runs and 74 RBI.
 
- Higgins posted the longest hitting streak among active Colonials in 2019 at 10 games. During that stretch she hit .459 (17-for-37) with six runs, eight RBI, two doubles and a pair of home runs.  It was the second hitting streak of at least 10 games for Higgins during her career, as she also crafted an 11-game hitting streak as a sophomore in 2018.
 
- Earning spots on the 2019 All-NEC Rookie Team were infielder Kristýna Malá and pitcher Dana Vatakis. Malá hit .250 (18-for-72) on the season, while Vatakis appeared in 29 games from the pitching circle, logging a team-high 131 innings and striking out 52.
 
- Sophomore Brittney Seibert was the only student-athlete to start all 51 games for RMU in 2019. She hit .242 (30-for-124) on the season with five doubles, a home run and 12 RBI.
 
- Senior outfielder Briana Bunner is two doubles shy of cracking the top five all-time in program history. Bunner owns 30 career doubles and has started each of the 132 career games she has appeared in.
 
BLUE HOSE INVITATIONAL LINKS
- Live Stats (Presbyterian)
- Live Stats (Norfolk State)
- Live Stats (South Carolina State)
- Live Stats (Norfolk State)
- Connor's Cure Hit-A-Thon

Hit Parade – Senior infielder Natalie Higgins is RMU's active leader in both games played (135) and starts (133) entering the 2020 season and is looking to solidify her status as one of the top hitters in program history. Higgins is 39 hits shy of cracking the top 10 in program history and is tied for seventh in the RMU career record book for doubles (29) and tied for 15th in home runs (13).
 
Down The Line – Natalie Higgins finished with nine multi-hit games for RMU in 2019 and enters her senior year with 130 career hits. Higgins owns 34 career multi-hit efforts in Robert Morris uniform, including a career-high four hits in a 12-4 victory @ Saint Francis (4/6/19). Throughout her career, Higgins has collected at least three hits in a game on six occasions.
 
Connor's Cure – For the second consecutive season, Robert Morris will take part in a season long fundraising effort with Connor's Cure Hit-A-Thon, which will help raise money to help conquer pediatric cancer while benefiting Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. The Hit-A-Thon provides two options to raise money, including a pledge of a certain amount of money per statistical category for the 2020 season or a flat donation.
 
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