ADAMS TWP — Erin Hershman used to be afraid of the ball.

Now softball opponents fear her.

The Mars power hitter and versatile fielder signed a letter of intent recently to continue her academic and softball career at Robert Morris University.

The Colonials have won three successive North East Conference championships and have claimed numerous league titles in Craig Coleman’s 23-year coaching career.

“I’m really excited about going there,” Hershman said. “My dream has always been to play Division I softball.”

She played youth baseball with older brother Caulen until age 12, but admitted to “not being very good at it.”

“I was so scared of the ball,” Hershman said. “The boys were bigger and stronger, they threw harder ... I was pretty much intimidated.”

Once she turned to fast-pitch softball, that all changed.

Hershman has developed a power stroke over the years. Her father, Bill Hershman, played minor league baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. She works with a personal hitting coach, Dom Nerigliano, each Saturday in Greentree.

As a junior last spring, Hershman led the Planets with nine home runs. She has 13 homers, 34 RBI and 44 runs scored in her varsity career.

Hershman hit .414 with 20 RBI last season and batted .407 as a sophomore.

“Erin has worked hard at her game,” Mars coach Michele Goodworth said. “Her father has helped with her hitting for a long time and she’s always played summer ball.

“Her combination of strength and power at the plate ... She just has a very powerful swing.”

Hershman was Mars’ catcher her freshman year, played center field as a sophomore and was the Planets’ shortstop last spring. She has been an outfielder for the Pittsburgh Power the past five summers.

“Erin has tremendous power at the plate and it’s the combination of speed and power that attracted us to her,” Coleman said. “That combination is pretty rare.

“We recruit off summer ball, not high school ball. We’ve only seen her play the outfield. Of the 16 players on our team, 12 were shortstops in high school. We recruit the athlete and see where the player fits in defensively once she gets here.”

That system has worked well for the Colonials. Robert Morris has won 582 games under Coleman, including a sparkling 257-98 mark in NEC play.

Mars has reached the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs the past two seasons after finishing 6-11 in Hershman’s freshman year.

“I was hitting a lot of home runs last year, but I was striking out too much, too,” Hershman said. “I played a little tight because I had (verbally) committed to Robert Morris and felt like people were watching me and expecting a lot.

“I put too much pressure on myself to do too much. This year, I just want to relax and hit the ball.”

Next summer, Hershman will play for the Team Pa. Cyclones, a merger of two programs, Team Pa. and the Cyclones.

“There will be plenty of Division I players on that team, including four from Robert Morris,” she said. “I want to play with some of my future teammates and get to know them.”

The Robert Morris softball program ranks among the best in the conference — and nationally — in academic performance as well.

“That’s part of the team culture here,” Coleman said. “There are academic expectations on this team and the players are proud of that. There is peer pressure on everyone in the program to adhere to it.”

That’s all fine with Hershman, who carries a 3.9 grade point average at Mars and plans to major in nursing.

“The teachers there are willing to work with you if you miss class because of games,” she said. “They help you catch up with the work. I like that.

“I feel like I can have the best of both worlds there.”