Robert Morris University Athletics

Lauren Dickinson is entering her 11th season at Robert Morris University as an assistant coach. The former Colonial great serves as the team’s pitching coach and also assists in other areas including recruiting.
 
Dickinson has played a major role in helping the Colonials win five Northeast Conference regular-season championships in the past 10 years. In this span, she has seen her pitchers claim seven All-NEC awards, including three conference pitcher of the year accolades. RMU has finished in the top half of the league in opponent batting average in each of the last eight seasons under Dickinson, including ranking first or second in the league on five occasions in this span.
 
Dickinson’s 2013 pitching staff was perhaps the finest one she has tutored yet. The Colonials led the league in opposing batting average (.214), strikeouts (322), runs allowed (125) and extra-base hits allowed (59) and tied for first in hits allowed (266). Nicole Sleith earned her second straight NEC Pitcher of the Year award after leading the league and ranking among the top 30 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (8.5) and hits allowed per seven innings (4.56). Robert Morris’ 2.14 team ERA ranked it among the top 10 percent nationally.
 
In the 2012 campaign, RMU led the league in overall ERA (2.36) and strikeouts (332) as well as ERA (1.84) and strikeouts (128) within league play. Despite having a two-time all-conference pitcher unavailable due to injury for nearly the entire season, RMU still prospered, topping the NEC standings with a 15-5 mark. Dickinson helped Nicole Sleith to a record-breaking rookie campaign as the freshman broke the single-season school record for wins and RMU’s freshman strikeout mark.
 
RMU ranked second in opponent batting average (.241) and third in strikeouts (296) in 2011 while winning the NEC regular-season title. Dickinson helped Alexa Bryson to her second All-NEC award while also incorporating freshman Geena Badolato into the rotation. Both Bryson and Badolato had ERA’s south of 2.00 in league play.
 
The Colonials posted a rare double in 2010 under Dickinson as they led the NEC in strikeouts (124) and fewest walks (30) within conference play. Robert Morris also led the league in strikeouts (129) in 2009 within NEC play while Alexa Bryson claimed All-NEC honors as a freshman on the strength of 19 wins and more than a strikeout per inning.
 
During the 2006 campaign, Dickinson helped RMU to its second straight 17-3 conference mark and second-consecutive NEC regular-season title. Her staff led the NEC in strikeouts (113) within league play and was second overall in opponent batting average (.274).
 
Dickinson had a significant impact on the 2005 squad as she aided two of her pitchers (Danielle Cohen & Erica Riggle) to All-NEC honors, marking only the second time that more than one Colonial pitcher was honored in a single season. RMU led the league in opponent batting average (.248) and strikeouts (288) while ranking second in ERA (2.99) en route to a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Dickinson was one of the best players, and best pitchers, in RMU history. She was named both NEC Player of the Year and NEC Pitcher of the Year in 2001 and is the most recent NEC athlete to win both major awards in the same season. She is one of just two four-time All-NEC honorees in program history, including earning three First Team awards.
 
Her name continues to be all over the RMU record book. She is the all-time leader in strikeouts (841) and complete games (116) while ranking second in wins (71) and third in career ERA (1.78) and shutouts (24). She holds three of the top nine single-season marks in strikeouts and two of the top five in wins. She also owns the RMU single-game strikeout record of 16, which is one of 26 times in her career she reached double digits in strikeouts.
 
While she could retire batters with ease, she also did a lot of damage with her bat. She ranks among the career top 10 in nearly every major offensive category, including batting average (.337), home runs (17), hits (186), runs scored (97) and RBI (91). She also is still the program’s leader in all-time doubles with 41. She hit above .375 in both her junior and senior seasons, tallying, at the time, the two highest single-season averages in RMU history.
 
A native of Clifton, N.J., Dickinson graduated from Robert Morris in 2002 with a Bachelor’s degree in sport management. She then earned a Master’s degree in educational leadership from RMU in 2005.