R O B E R T M O R R I S C O L O N I A L S (20-31 | 10-6) ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY 2016 SOFTBALL POSTSEASON NOTES Media Relations Contact: Spencer Kowitz • Email: [email protected] • www.rmucolonials.com • @RMUSoftball 2016 SCHEDULE FEBRUARY 13 Sat. vs. Morehead State ! W, 8-0 (6) vs. Niagara ! W, 7-5 14 Sun. @ Cleveland State ! L, 0-2 vs. Bowling Green ! L, 1-7 19 Fri. vs. Utah # L, 0-9 (5) vs. Oregon State # L, 1-8 20 Sat. vs. BYU # L, 2-7 @ UNLV # L, 3-8 21 Sun. vs. Nevada # L, 0-9 (5) 26 Fri. vs. Binghamton $ L, 5-15 (6) vs. Toledo $ CANCELED 27 Sat. vs. Binghamton $ L, 5-15 (5) 28 Sun. vs. Saint Joseph’s $ L, 2-6 @ #10/12 James Madison $ L, 0-8 (6) MARCH 4 Fri. @ George Washington ^ L, 4-5 (9) 5 Sat. vs. Columbia ^ L, 1-9 (5) @ Georgetown ^ L, 0-6 6 Sun. vs. Monmouth ^ W, 7-6 (8) 10 Thu. @ Florida Atlantic ~ W, 2-1 @ Florida Atlantic ~ L, 0-7 11 Fri. vs. UMass ~ L, 0-2 vs. #17/19 Minnesota ~ W, 4-1 12 Sat. vs. Mercer ~ L, 4-5 (8) vs. Rutgers ~ W, 5-4 (8) 18 Fri. vs. Northern Illinois ? L, 0-9 (5) @ UNCG ? L, 5-6 19 Sat. vs. Northern Illinois ? L, 0-8 (5) vs. George Washington ~ CANCELED @ UNCG ? L, 0-8 (5) 20 Sun. vs. George Washington ~ CANCELED 23 Wed. @ Penn State (DH) W, 3-1; L, 5-8 29 Tue. @ Youngstown St. (DH) L, 0-8 (6); L, 2-8 30 Wed. KENT STATE (DH) W, 3-2; W, 14-11 APRIL 2 Sat. @ Wagner (DH) * W, 6-5; W, 6-5 6 Wed. @ Canisius (DH) CANCELED 16 Sat. @ LIU Brooklyn (DH) * L, 1-4; L, 5-6 17 Sun. @ Sacred Heart (DH) * W, 3-1; L, 1-3 19 Tue. ST. BONAVENTURE (DH) L, 4-6; W, 4-2 24 Sun. BRYANT (DH) * W, 1-0; W, 4-3 (8) 30 Sat. @ Mt. St. Mary’s (DH) * L, 1-4; W, 9-1 MAY 1 Sun. SAINT FRANCIS (DH) * W, 6-2; L, 0-9 4 Wed. C. CONN. ST. (DH) * W, 8-3; L, 4-6 8 Sun. FDU (DH) * W, 4-0; W, 3-0 12 Thu. vs. Saint Francis % Noon 13. Fri. vs. TBD % TBD Home games in all CAPS ! CSU Dome Invitational # DeMarini Desert Classic $ Macado’s Invitational ^ District Invite ~ Parents’ Weekend Tournament ? Blue/Gold Challengre * Northeast Conference game % Northeast Conference Tournament 2016 NORTHEAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT THURSDAY, MAY 12 - SATURDAY, MAY 14 LIU FIELD - BROOKLYN, N.Y. #1 LIU Brooklyn | #2 Saint Francis | #3 Robert Morris | #4 Bryant Live Video: www.necfrontrow.com | Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/liubrooklyn/softball/ STRONG FINISH SENDS RMU BACK TO NEC TOURNAMENT Robert Morris qualified for the Northeast Conference Tournament for the eighth time in nine sea- sons with a strong finish to the regular season. The Colonials won seven of their final 10 games, all in league action, to conclude NEC play with a 10-6 mark. In each of the last eight years that RMU has made the tournament, it has reached double digits in conference victories. REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS AGAINST TOURNAMENT TEAMS: @ LIU Brooklyn (April 16 - Brooklyn, N.Y.) RMU outhit LIU in both games of a doubleheader but was nonetheless swept by the Blackbirds for the first time since 2010. Only two Blackbirds reached in the first five innings of the opener, but a two-run long ball had the hosts on top as RMU was unable to crack the scoring column until the sev- enth. RMU jumped ahead in the second game by scoring three times in the first and eventually built a four-run lead. However, LIU put together a furious rally in the seventh to come back and win, 6-5. vs. Bryant (April 24 - Moon Township, Pa.) RMU swept Bryant to begin its strong closing stretch, but it was far from easy. A Haileigh Stocks home run in the fifth inning provided the only offense of the game in the opener as Kaitlin Ellzy and Laura Coulter combined on a two-hit shutout. Bryant scored first in the nightcap and took a 3-2 lead into the seventh, but Abrielle McCartney tied the game with a two-out single. The Colonials would win the game in the eighth on a Kristen Gabelt RBI double. Gabelt had homered earlier in the game. vs. Saint Francis (May 1 - Moon Township, Pa.) RMU split its twinbill with Saint Francis fewer than two weeks ago. Kristen Gabelt hit a game-tying home run, and Ashley Gerhart put RMU ahead for good with a two-run shot in the fourth inning of the opener. Lacee Collins picked up the win in the circle by working four innings while Kaitlin Ellzy finished out the game and earned a save. The Red Flash would rally in the nightcap and cruised to a victory behind a trio of home runs as the Colonials could not keep up offensively. TOURNAMENT PREVIEW 2016 ROBERT MORRIS COLONIALS SOFTBALL 1 BATTING AVG. SLUGGING PERCENTAGE ON BASE PERCENTAGE Jordan Gurganus - .351 Kristen Gabelt - .497 Jordan Gurganus - .362 Ashley Gerhart - .300 Haileigh Stocks - .483 Ashley Gerhart - .356 Kristen Gabelt - .284 Ashley Gerhart - .473 Kristen Gabelt - .319 RUNS SCORED HITS RBI Kristen Gabelt - 27 Jordan Gurganus - 60 Haileigh Stocks - 25 Lauren Hackett - 25 Ashley Gerhart - 45 Lauren Hackett - 22 Ashley Gerhart - 24 Kristen Gabelt - 44 Kristen Gabelt - 21 DOUBLES HOME RUNS WALKS Stacey Capp - 11 Kristen Gabelt - 8 Olivia Lorusso - 15 Ashley Gerhart - 9 Haileigh Stocks - 8 Ashley Gerhart - 11 Haileigh Stocks - 9 Ashley Gerhart - 5 Kristen Gabelt - 8 STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
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R O B E R T M O R R I S C O L O N I A L S ( 2 0 - 3 1 | 1 0 - 6 )
ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY2016 SOFTBALL POSTSEASON NOTES
2016 SCHEDULEFEBRUARY13 Sat. vs. Morehead State ! W, 8-0 (6) vs. Niagara ! W, 7-514 Sun. @ Cleveland State ! L, 0-2 vs. Bowling Green ! L, 1-719 Fri. vs. Utah # L, 0-9 (5) vs. Oregon State # L, 1-8 20 Sat. vs. BYU # L, 2-7 @ UNLV # L, 3-821 Sun. vs. Nevada # L, 0-9 (5) 26 Fri. vs. Binghamton $ L, 5-15 (6) vs. Toledo $ CANCELED27 Sat. vs. Binghamton $ L, 5-15 (5)28 Sun. vs. Saint Joseph’s $ L, 2-6 @ #10/12 James Madison $ L, 0-8 (6) MARCH4 Fri. @ George Washington ^ L, 4-5 (9)5 Sat. vs. Columbia ^ L, 1-9 (5) @ Georgetown ^ L, 0-6 6 Sun. vs. Monmouth ^ W, 7-6 (8) 10 Thu. @ Florida Atlantic ~ W, 2-1 @ Florida Atlantic ~ L, 0-711 Fri. vs. UMass ~ L, 0-2 vs. #17/19 Minnesota ~ W, 4-112 Sat. vs. Mercer ~ L, 4-5 (8) vs. Rutgers ~ W, 5-4 (8)18 Fri. vs. Northern Illinois ? L, 0-9 (5) @ UNCG ? L, 5-619 Sat. vs. Northern Illinois ? L, 0-8 (5) vs. George Washington ~ CANCELED @ UNCG ? L, 0-8 (5)20 Sun. vs. George Washington ~ CANCELED23 Wed. @ Penn State (DH) W, 3-1; L, 5-829 Tue. @ Youngstown St. (DH) L, 0-8 (6); L, 2-830 Wed. KENT STATE (DH) W, 3-2; W, 14-11APRIL2 Sat. @ Wagner (DH) * W, 6-5; W, 6-56 Wed. @ Canisius (DH) CANCELED16 Sat. @ LIU Brooklyn (DH) * L, 1-4; L, 5-617 Sun. @ Sacred Heart (DH) * W, 3-1; L, 1-319 Tue. ST. BONAVENTURE (DH) L, 4-6; W, 4-224 Sun. BRYANT (DH) * W, 1-0; W, 4-3 (8)30 Sat. @ Mt. St. Mary’s (DH) * L, 1-4; W, 9-1MAY1 Sun. SAINT FRANCIS (DH) * W, 6-2; L, 0-94 Wed. C. CONN. ST. (DH) * W, 8-3; L, 4-68 Sun. FDU (DH) * W, 4-0; W, 3-012 Thu. vs. Saint Francis % Noon13. Fri. vs. TBD % TBD
Home games in all CAPS! CSU Dome Invitational# DeMarini Desert Classic$ Macado’s Invitational^ District Invite~ Parents’ Weekend Tournament? Blue/Gold Challengre* Northeast Conference game% Northeast Conference Tournament
2016 NORTHEAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTTHURSDAY, MAY 12 - SATURDAY, MAY 14LIU FIELD - BROOKLYN, N.Y.
#1 LIU Brooklyn | #2 Saint Francis | #3 Robert Morris | #4 Bryant
Live Video: www.necfrontrow.com | Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/liubrooklyn/softball/
STRONG FINISH SENDS RMU BACK TO NEC TOURNAMENTRobert Morris qualified for the Northeast Conference Tournament for the eighth time in nine sea-sons with a strong finish to the regular season. The Colonials won seven of their final 10 games, all in league action, to conclude NEC play with a 10-6 mark. In each of the last eight years that RMU has made the tournament, it has reached double digits in conference victories.
REGULAR-SEASON MEETINGS AGAINST TOURNAMENT TEAMS:@ LIU Brooklyn (April 16 - Brooklyn, N.Y.)RMU outhit LIU in both games of a doubleheader but was nonetheless swept by the Blackbirds for the first time since 2010. Only two Blackbirds reached in the first five innings of the opener, but a two-run long ball had the hosts on top as RMU was unable to crack the scoring column until the sev-enth. RMU jumped ahead in the second game by scoring three times in the first and eventually built a four-run lead. However, LIU put together a furious rally in the seventh to come back and win, 6-5.
vs. Bryant (April 24 - Moon Township, Pa.)RMU swept Bryant to begin its strong closing stretch, but it was far from easy. A Haileigh Stocks home run in the fifth inning provided the only offense of the game in the opener as Kaitlin Ellzy and Laura Coulter combined on a two-hit shutout. Bryant scored first in the nightcap and took a 3-2 lead into the seventh, but Abrielle McCartney tied the game with a two-out single. The Colonials would win the game in the eighth on a Kristen Gabelt RBI double. Gabelt had homered earlier in the game.
vs. Saint Francis (May 1 - Moon Township, Pa.)RMU split its twinbill with Saint Francis fewer than two weeks ago. Kristen Gabelt hit a game-tying home run, and Ashley Gerhart put RMU ahead for good with a two-run shot in the fourth inning of the opener. Lacee Collins picked up the win in the circle by working four innings while Kaitlin Ellzy finished out the game and earned a save. The Red Flash would rally in the nightcap and cruised to a victory behind a trio of home runs as the Colonials could not keep up offensively.
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
2016 ROBERT MORRIS COLONIALS SOFTBALL 1
BATTING AVG. SLUGGING PERCENTAGE ON BASE PERCENTAGEJordan Gurganus - .351 Kristen Gabelt - .497 Jordan Gurganus - .362Ashley Gerhart - .300 Haileigh Stocks - .483 Ashley Gerhart - .356Kristen Gabelt - .284 Ashley Gerhart - .473 Kristen Gabelt - .319
YOUTH IS SERVEDRobert Morris is one of just a handful of teams in Division I to sport three freshmen pitchers this year. Unlike some of its counterparts with three rookies that also have a non-freshman stabilizing the staff, RMU’s rookies have thrown 99.4% of the team’s innings this year. Each member of the trio has started at least 13 games and entered in relief in at least 12 contests. It marks the first time in Coach Coleman’s 26-year tenure that he has had three freshmen pitchers in the same season.
TOE TO TOE WITH TOP TEAMSRMU secured one of the more memorable wins in program history on March 11 of this season as the Colonials stunned #17 Minnesota by a 4-1 margin. The Colonials collected nine hits in the win while Kaitlin Ellzy spun a one-hitter against the Golden Gophers and did not yield an earned run. One day earlier, Robert Morris took down Florida Atlantic, a team currently ranked 22nd nationally that sports a 47-7 record. Ellzy threw a three-hitter in that game and allowed one unearned run.
NO ONE-TRICK PONYJunior Jordan Gurganus is poised to lead Robert Morris in hitting for a second straight season. With a strong tournament, she has a chance to join an even more impressive list. If Gurganus, who is cur-rently batting .351, can finish the year hitting at least .350, she will become just the fifth Colonial to hit at least .350 in back-to-back seasons.
WALK THIS WAYRobert Morris has shown a flair for the dramatic at times this season, and senior Lauren Hackett is often in the center of it. RMU has four walk-off wins in its past 35 games, three of which came in the eighth inning. The Colonials trailed in three of the four walk-off wins and twice tied games in the bottom of the seventh with two outs. Hackett had a walk-off single in a win over Monmouth and blasted a three-run, walk-off home run in a win over Kent State. The veteran also scored the winning run in a walk-off victory over Rutgers.
GOING STREAKINGJunior Stacey Capp enters the Northeast Conference Tournament riding one of the finest stretches of her career. She has 12 hits in her last 20 at bats, including four doubles and a home run. She has walked twice, tallied eight RBI and scored four runs in this span. Capp leads the team with 11 doubles on the year.
HAVE A DAYSophomore Olivia Lorusso owns perhaps RMU’s finest offensive performance of the season. The third baseman tied school records for hits and RBI in the nightcap of a twinbill against Kent State. Lorusso was 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and seven RBI in the contest, as she became only the second Colonial ever to notch seven RBI in a game. Her homer was a three-run blast in the sixth inning that came with RMU trailing by two runs.
ONE IS ENOUGHPart of Robert Morris’ success this season is due to the team’s play in tight contests. RMU enters the NEC Tournament with an 8-4 record in one-run games, which would represent the team’s best win-ning percentage in such contests since it went 9-2 in 2009. The Colonials went 4-1 in one-run games within conference play and have won five of their past six such games overall. RMU did not play a one-run game in its first 13 affairs of the season, so each of its 12 one-run decisions has come within the past 38 games.
STOCKS RISINGSenior Haileigh Stocks had the finest outings against league opposition of her career in her final trip around the league. She hit a team-leading and career best .367 in NEC games with nine of her 18 hits going for extra bases. She leads the team in home runs (6), RBI (14) and slugging percentage (.796) in league play. Four of her six homers in league play gave RMU the lead when it did not previously have it and another pulled RMU even when it had been trailing by two runs.
CAN I ASSIST YOU?The duo of Stacey Capp and Olivia Lorusso make up the left side of RMU’s infield, and it will likely soon take up the top two spots in a single-season school record. Both Capp and Lorusso tied the program’s record for single-season assists in the regular-season finale this past Sunday. Each enters the tournament with 121 assists on the year.
RMU QUICK FACTSUNIVERSITY INFORMATIONLOCATION Moon Township, Pa.FOUNDED 1921ENROLLMENT 5,358AFFILIATION NCAA Division ICONFERENCE Northeast Conference (NEC)NICKNAME ColonialsCOLORS Blue and White with RedFACILITY North Athletic Complex Surface GrassPRESIDENT Christopher Howard, Ph.D.ATHLETIC DIRECTOR Craig Coleman, M.D.
STAFFHEAD COACH Craig Coleman, M.D. Alma Mater Penn ‘79 Tenure at RMU 26th season Record at RMU 652-576-5 (.531) Career Record Same as above
ASSISTANT COACH Keri Meyer Alma Mater Robert Morris ‘06 Tenure at RMU third overall season
ASSISTANT COACH Erica List Alma Mater Robert Morris ‘99 Tenure at RMU ninth overall season
VOLUNTEER ASST. COACH Wendy Beckemeyer Alma Mater California Lutheran ‘86 Tenure at RMU second season
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Rich Holsinger Tenure at RMU fourth season
ATHLETIC TRAINER Nick Thomas Tenure at RMU second season
STUDENT MANAGER Pete Schaffer Tenure at RMU second season
TEAM INFORMATION2016 PRESEASON COACHES POLL 2nd2015 OVERALL RECORD: 26-232015 NEC RECORD / FINISH: 13-3 / 1stLETTERWINNERS RETURNING: 7LETTERWINNERS LOST: 5STARTERS RETURNING: 6STARTERS LOST: 4
Ashlee Groover GROOVE-erKaitlin Ellzy Ell-ZeeLacee Collins LacyChelsea de Jager JAG-er
ALUMS AS ASSISTANTSThere are two assistant coaches on the Robert Morris coaching staff who are alums of the program. Both earned major conference awards while leading a team to a NEC Tournament title.
KERI MEYER
Meyer is one of the most accomplished players in RMU history. She led the team to the 2005 NCAA Tournament by batting .418, a single-season school record that still stands, while posting a league-leading .472 on-base percent-age and a .620 SLG%. She was named NEC Player of the Year that season and also claimed first team all-region honors for her remarkable con-tributions. Meyer was also the toughest player to strike out in Division I in 2005 and holds the best single-season at bat-to-strikeout ratio of any Division I player in the past decade.
Meyer was an assistant coach for fellow NEC member Fairleigh Dickinson in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. She served as the head coach at Monroe College immediately prior to returning to RMU.
Meyer helped the Colonials to a pair of NEC regular-season titles in her four years and was a three-time All-NEC honoree. She was inducted into the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.
ERICA LISTList, who primarily works with pitchers, returned to coaching for RMU after a hiatus in 2015. List, formerly Erica Schwanke, led RMU to the NEC Tournament title in 1998, earning Tournament MVP honors in the process. She posted a 1.35 ERA in her senior season, third in single-season school history, and racked up 280 strikeouts, a single-season school record until last year. She ranked fourth in Division I in strikeouts per seven innings (9.5) en route to NEC Pitcher of the Year honors in 1998 while holding opponents to a .176 batting average. List also twirled four no-hitters in her junior season.
List helped the Colonials to a pair of NEC regu-lar-season titles, a then school record 34 wins in 1997 and a 48-11-1 record in conference play in her four years. She was a two-time all-region honoree, a three-time All-NEC First Team award winner and was also named 1995 NEC Rookie of the Year. She is one of just four Colonials ever to earn at least three first team accolades from the league.
She was inducted into the Robert Morris Ath-letic Hall of Fame in 2003.
HEAD COACH CRAIG COLEMANCraig Coleman, M.D., is in the midst of his 26th season as the head softball coach at Robert Morris. He has also doubled as the university’s Athletic Director since February 2005.
Prior to his arrival as head coach in 1991, the Colonials posted just 19 victories in the previous three seasons. During his 26 years as head coach, the Colonials have compiled an overall record of 652-586-5 (.531), including a record of 285-
118-2 (.706) in Northeast Conference play. He has led RMU to eight NEC regular-season champion-ships and six NEC Tournament titles. In 1994, Robert Morris received its first national ranking in school history, regardless of sport, when the Colonials cracked the top 25 in the USA Today / National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll.
Coleman has claimed five NEC Coach of the Year awards even though the award was not given until after he had already won his first four NEC Tournament championships.
Coleman’s success as head softball coach has come not only on the field, but in the classroom, as well. His players include 18 Academic All-District selections, six NEC Scholar-Athletes of the Year for softball and numerous NEC Academic Honor Roll selections.
In fact, Coleman has helped the entire athletic department earn recognition for its efforts off the field. Robert Morris has claimed the NEC Institutional Academic Award in two of the past four years. In 2013-14, Colonial student-athletes that competed in 19 sports sponsored by the NEC combined to post a 3.295 grade point average.
Coleman earned his medical degree from The Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine in Hershey in 1983. In 1979, he earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a native of Philadelphia, Pa.
NEC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK WHERE THEY RANK AT RMUCAREER RANKINGS
KRISTEN GABELT- Tallied 182 games played, tied for 10th at RMU- Tallied 23 doubles, tied for 10th at RMU- Tallied 21 home runs, tied for fourth at RMU
ASHLEY GERHART- Tallied 192 games played, third at RMU- Tallied 184 hits, fifth at RMU- Tallied 99 runs, seventh at RMU- Tallied 26 doubles, tied for eighth at RMU- Tallied 17 home runs, tied for seventh at RMU- Tallied 61 walks, fourth at RMU- Tallied 28 steals, 10th at RMU- Current average of .323 would rank 11th among those whose career is complete
JORDAN GURGANUS- Tallied 170 hits, ninth at RMU- Tallied nine triples, tied for fourth at RMU- Tallied 641 putouts, eighth at RMU
LAUREN HACKETT- Tallied 833 putouts, tied for third at RMU- Current fielding percentage of .982 would be tied for seventh at RMU
HAILEIGH STOCKS- Tallied 182 games played, tied for 10th at RMU- Tallied 34 doubles, third at RMU- Tallied 17 home runs, tied for seventh at RMU
SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS (2016)
STACEY CAPP- Tallied 11 doubles, tied for seventh at RMU- Tallied 121 assists, tied for first at RMU
KRISTEN GABELT- Tallied eight home runs, tied for seventh at RMU
JORDAN GURGANUS- Tallied 60 hits, tied for eighth at RMU- Tallied four triples, tied for fourth at RMU
LAUREN HACKETT- Tallied 317 putouts, tied for sixth at RMU
OLIVIA LORUSSO- Tallied 121 assists, tied for first at RMU
HAILEIGH STOCKS- Tallied eight home runs, tied for seventh at RMU
For non-freshman, the first number is their season total and the second number is their career total.
4 2016 NORTHEAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
MISCELLANEOUS MULTIPLES
The following Colonials garnered weekly NEC honors during the 2016 season. Robert Morris was one of two schools to earn at least one honor in all three categories in 2016.
PLAYER OF THE WEEKApril 4 Lauren Hackett
- Hackett led the Colonials in a variety of offen-sive categories during a four-win week as she hit .529 (9-for-17) with an .882 slugging mark. She tallied two homers, seven RBI and 10 runs scored on the week. Hackett set career bests in hits (3), runs scored (4) and RBI (5) in the night-cap of a win over Kent State in which she hit a walk-off, three-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning. Hackett reached base in all six games the Colonials played that week and had three multi-hit outings.
PITCHER OF THE WEEKMarch 14 Kaitlin EllzyMarch 28 Kaitlin EllzyMay 9 Laura Coulter
- Ellzy earned her inaugural league honor after going 3-0 in a tournament at Florida Atlantic. She posted a 0.59 ERA at the event as oppo-nents only hit .149 off of her on the weekend. She became the first freshman to be named NEC Pitcher of the Week in over three years. Ellzy claimed her second honor in this category after allowing two runs, one earned, in 10.1 innings of work in a doubleheader at Penn State.
- Coulter claimed her first weekly accoalde after a strong finish to the regular season in which she did not allow a run in 9.2 innings of work on the final week. Opponents only hit .194 off of her in this span as she tossed her first collegiate shutout May 8 against Fairleigh Dickinson.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEKMarch 14 Kaitlin EllzyMarch 28 Kaitlin EllzyMay 2 Kaitlin Ellzy
- After doubling up on pitching and rookie hon-ors twice, Ellzy garnered her third rookie award to open the season’s final month. She pitched to a 1.43 ERA in 14.2 innings in the penultimate week of the season while posting a .176 batting average against. She registered both a win and a save in this stretch.
MORE MUSKET SHOTSBIG TIMEIn addition to downing nationally-ranked Minnesota, Robert Morris picked up wins this year against Penn State and Rutgers as well. In doing so, RMU beat three Big Ten teams in a season for the first time in program history. Kaitlin Ellzy went the distance in each game and allowed a combined two earned runs in the three outings. The Colonials did not trail in any point in those three contests and were not outhit in any of the three games.
HEY BATTER, BATTERJordan Gurganus registered her 60th hit of the season in RMU’s regular-season finale against Fair-leigh Dickinson. That made her just the second Colonial ever to post at least 60 hits in multiple sea-sons. In fact, Gurganus recently cracked RMU’s top 10 list for career hits in just her third collegiate season. She enters the NEC Tournament ranked ninth all-time at RMU with 170 hits.
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGHAccording to the NCAA’s strength of schedule ratings, Robert Morris’ non-conference schedule was the toughest in the NEC and in the top quartet in all of Division I. RMU collected five wins against teams ranked among the top 100 in the RPI while the rest of the NEC combined for six.
THAT’S ACADEMICRobert Morris softball isn’t all about winning on the field, as the Colonial program has displayed excellence in the classroom as well. In six of the past seven years, RMU has posted one of the top four team grade point averages among all Division I softball programs. In fact, in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2011-12, RMU led all Division I in team GPA with a mark of at least 3.55 in each year.
RAISING HER GAMESenior Ashley Gerhart had posted strong efforts in league play in each of the past three seasons, and her senior year certainly did end the trend. Gerhart has a .400 on-base percentage and a .630 slug-ging mark against NEC opposition this year. For her career, she owns a .382 batting average in league play and a .628 slugging mark. Her SLG% in conference play is the best by a Colonial who completed her career within the past decade.
FROM A LAND DOWN UNDERWhile a number of Colonials hail from western Pennsylvania, freshman Laura Coulter is a little bit further from home. Coulter’s hometown of Banora Point, Australia is 9,316 miles away from RMU’s campus. The rookie was selected to represent Team Australia at both the U-17 and U-19 levels. She helped her state of Queensland to its first U-19 national title in 12 years while posting a 0.83 ERA in the event. Coulter concluded her first collegiate season with a 3.08 ERA in conference action.
POWER SURGEAs senior Kristen Gabelt’s career comes to a close, her power output has ramped up. The outfielder has homered seven times in the team’s past 24 games and five times in the last 12 games. For the sec-ond straight season, Gabelt hit at least .340 in conference play with a slugging percentage of at least .700. For her career, Gabelt has more walks (15) than strikeouts (14) within conference play.
WEEKLY WINNERS YEAR AFTER YEARFreshmen Kaitlin Ellzy and Laura Coulter were both honored in the NEC’s Pitcher of the Week category during the 2016 season. This marked the first time in program history in which more than one Colonial was honored in the pitching category within the same season. However, it is the ninth consecutive season in which at least one Colonial has been recognized in this category, the longest active streak in the conference. When senior Lauren Hackett was honored in the Player of the Week category in early April, it also marked the ninth consecutive season in which a Colonial claimed an award in that category, also the longest active streak in the league.
COLONIAL QUICK HITTERS- Senior Lauren Hackett not only tops the team in sacrifices with 10 but leads the league entering the NEC Tournament … Junior Jordan Gurganus finished the regular season as the third toughest player to strike out in the Northeast Conference, going down just once every 17.1 at bats. She is the toughest to strike out among the four teams in this year’s tournament … Senior Ashley Gerhart and sophomore Olivia Lorusso have started every game this season at center field and third base, respec-tively. They are vying to become the first set of RMU teammates to start every game of a season at the same position since 2009.
ACTIVE NEC HONOREESThe following list details active Colonials who had claimed NEC postseason awards entering the 2016 season:
KRISTEN GABELT 2015 ALL-NEC SECOND TEAM
Gabelt had a breakout junior campaign a year ago as she set career bests in nearly every of-fensive category. She hit .343 with a .423 OBP and a .620 slugging mark. Gabelt led the team in home runs (9) and total bases (85) while add-ing 28 RBI.
ASHLEY GERHART 2015 ALL-NEC FIRST TEAM 2013 ALL-NEC FIRST TEAM 2013 NEC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Gerhart burst onto the scene in her rookie campaign as she led the team in batting average (.347) and OBP (.424). She contributed 50 hits, 19 walks and 10 steals while scoring 28 runs. She primarily served as RMU’s leadoff hitter. In her award-winning 2015 season, Gerhart set career highs in hitting (.351), OBP (.426), SLG% (.534) and RBI (22). She led the league in hitting within NEC play with a .457 mark.
JORDAN GURGANUS 2015 ALL-NEC SECOND TEAM 2014 ALL-NEC FIRST TEAM
Gurganus hit .307 in her rookie campaign of 2014 while being in an unfamiliar defensive en-vironment at first base. She contributed 47 hits, 18 runs, eight stolen bases and tied for the team lead with 13 multi-hit games. Gurganus took home honors for the second straight season in 2015 after leading the league in hitting at .384. She led the league with 63 hits, hit .463 with runners in scoring position and scored 27 runs. She posted 19 multi-hit games and only went hitless seven times on the season.
HAILEIGH STOCKS 2015 ALL-NEC SECOND TEAM 2013 ALL-NEC FIRST TEAM
Stocks hit .298 in her rookie season while lead-ing the team in slugging percentage (.545) and RBI (24). She posted 10 doubles and six homers during the season. Stocks hit .328 in league play without making an error in NEC action. In garnering NEC accolades for the second time in 2015, Stocks set career bests in OBP (.358) and runs (22) while walking more times than she struck out. She hit a team-leading .343 with two outs in an inning.
2016 ROBERT MORRIS COLONIALS SOFTBALL 5
2016 Robert Morris Softball Statistics
Overall Statistics for Robert Morris (as of May 08, 2016)