Yough graduate Nicole Sleith Schaffer was one of the most feared softball pitchers to play at Robert Morris.
She struck out more than 900 hitters over four seasons and once tossed a perfect game to extend her team’s season.
She will go down as one of Northeast Conference’s all-time greats, and the conference assured that immortal status by naming her to its Mount Rushmore Softball Team.
As part of its 40th season celebration, the NEC is selecting four players in each sport who dominated in the conference and on a national stage.
Sleith Schaffer, the swift lefthander who played for the Colonials from 2012-15 and is an assistant coach at Duke, was a three-time NEC Pitcher of the Year and was the conference’s rookie of the year in 2012.
While registering a record of 78-42 and a 1.70 ERA, she pitched her way to program records for appearances (147), starts (114), innings pitched (806.1), strikeouts (932) and saves (13).
The wins also are a program record, along with her 98 complete games.
As a senior in 2015, Sleith Schaffer broke the single-season school record for strikeouts, finishing the year with 296. That mark is tied for tops in the NEC.
That season, she pitched a perfect game against Farleigh Dickinson as RMU won 2-0 in the first elimination game of the NEC Tournament. With only 76 pitches, she propelled the Colonials forward in the bracket.
When she was a freshman, she struck out 251 in 247 innings and finished 25-11 with a 1.59 ERA.
She was named the NEC Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2014-15.
She is the sixth RMU athlete to make the Rushmore teams, joining Hank Fraley (football), Neco Brett (soccer), Katie Noble (volleyball), Artemis Spanou (basketball), and Trevor Moore (lacrosse).
