The RMU softball team came into its doubleheader Friday afternoon against Mount St. Mary’s with a record of 12-9, and walked away with more than just two wins versus the Mountaineers.

Robert Morris gained a big boost in morale.

In the first game, the Colonials (14-9) pulled away early, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after three innings and added an insurance run in the 5^th inning on their way to a 5-0 shut-out.

The RMU offense was led Ashley Gerhart, who went 3-4, and Chelsea Siar, who was 2-2 with three RBI’s. However, the victory would not have been possible without Nicole Sleith, who pitched a no-hitter.

“Nicole was spectacular, she was only one walk away from a perfect game” said head coach Craig Coleman. “She’s only a sophomore, but she’s pitching like a senior.”

Game two however, had a different twist.

In the second contest, both sides had exceptional pitching. Despite this, the Colonials were able to squeeze in a run in the 2^nd inning to take a 1-0 lead. However, Mount St. Mary’s came storming back in the 4^th to tie the game and put RMU on its heels.

This led Coleman to make a pitching change, putting Sleith back into the game to give the team energy. The substitution led to Haileigh Stocks’ go-ahead RBI in the 6^th inning to give the Colonials the 2-1 lead.

In the 7^th inning, things got interesting after Mount St. Mary’s loaded the bases with two outs. Sleith was locked into battle with MSM’s Megan Baker, and eventually, the sophomore pitcher struck out Baker to end the game in dramatic fashion.

After both contests, Coleman said that winning a double-header gives confidence to the team.

“We had not played for twelve days, but now we’ve won a good number of games and the players are feeling more confident about their swings,” he said.

With both wins, the Colonials improve to 2-0 in Northeast Conference play.