BRADFORD, Pa. – By the conclusion of day two of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championship Tournament on Saturday, the No. 1 seed Penn State Altoona softball team was still standing, surviving the day's action to earn its third conference championship appearance in the last four seasons.

Penn State Altoona (22-15) dropped into the losers bracket after its first game of the day Saturday afternoon, when the Lions suffered a 4-3 loss to No. 3 seed Pitt-Greensburg. However, after a long layoff, Penn State Altoona avoided elimination by powering past No. 4 seed Penn State Behrend, 8-3, that evening.

Now, the Lions will go up against Pitt-Greensburg tomorrow, Sunday, May 11, at 10 a.m. for the AMCC Championship, hosted by Pitt-Bradford at its Kessel Athletic Complex.

Game One: Pitt-Greensburg 4, Penn State Altoona 3

Penn State Altoona scored two runs in the first inning and maintained its lead until the latter stages of the game, when Pitt-Greensburg (19-17) scored two in the sixth and two more in the seventh to seize the advantage. The Lions scored a run in the bottom of the seventh, but the Bobcats held on for the one-run win.

Karli Storm (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights) was 3-for-4 with two RBI, Alyssa Fisher (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain) hit 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, and Jillian Taylor (Irvona, PA/Glendale) finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Lauren Davidson (Clearfield, PA/DuBois Central Catholic), Gianna Hoppel (Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County), and Madison Kennedy (Williamsburg, PA/Central) also had one hit apiece for the Lions.

At pitcher, Josselyn Nau (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) was saddled with the loss in a complete game effort. Over seven innings, the right-hander struck out a pair of batters and yielded four runs.

The Lions established an early lead by getting two runs home in the bottom of the first inning. Fisher led off with a single into left field, moved up to second on Davidson's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Hoppel's double to center. Storm came next with an RBI single up the middle, and Penn State Altoona finished the frame with a 2-0 advantage.

The Lions held their two-run lead until the top of the sixth, when a two-run home run by Makenzie Lang evened the score at 2-2. Pitt-Greensburg struck again in the top of the seventh, taking its first lead of the contest on a two-run double by Hunter Taylor.

Penn State Altoona made a push in the bottom half of the seventh, making it a one-run game and putting the tying run in scoring position. Taylor started the inning with a base hit to left, and Davidson's one-out single to left got two runners aboard. One out later, Storm sent a ground ball single through the left side of the infield, bringing Taylor home to make it 4-3. But, with runners on first and second base, Penn State Altoona came up short when Pitt-Greensburg got the final out to escape the game with a tight victory.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 8, Penn State Behrend 3

The Lions stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back, defeating Penn State Behrend (17-22) for the second time in the AMCC Tournament and knocking them out of the playoffs.

Madalyn Maynard (Towanda, PA/Towanda) had a perfect 3-for-3 showing at the plate with her first home run of the season, a grand slam. Fisher went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk, and Hoppel was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored.

Hanna Lauck (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) had a double, an RBI, and a run, and Kennedy also had a hit and scored a run.

Kennedy got the ball for Penn State Altoona's second game of the day and pitched a complete game to record her eighth victory of the season. In seven innings, she allowed three runs while striking out two batters.

Penn State Altoona put a crooked number on the board in the bottom of the first to take a strong lead early in the game, after doing all of its damage in the inning with two outs. With two away and Fisher on second after reaching on a leadoff walk, Lauck doubled to left center to plate the Lions' first run. Storm followed with a walk, and Kennedy's single up the middle loaded the bases. Maynard came next, hitting a grand slam – her first home run of the spring – to make it 5-0.

The Lions boosted their lead to 8-0 in the bottom of the fourth. Taylor started the inning by drawing a walk, and Fisher's single down the right-field line put two runners on base. A sac bunt from Davidson moved both runners up, and they scored on Hoppel's two-run double to left. Lauck reached base on an error in the next at-bat, allowing Hoppel to score Penn State Altoona's eighth run of the contest.

Behrend stayed alive in the top of the fifth, after Lexi Edgett's RBI double made it 8-1. They picked up two more runs in the seventh, getting a sacrifice fly from Jocelyn McNany and an RBI double from Meghan Petitte. But Penn State Altoona's lead was too large to overcome, and the Lions won their elimination game by five runs.

Now, Penn State Altoona will face Pitt-Greensburg in an AMCC Tournament rematch for the conference title tomorrow, Sunday, May 11. The Lions will be in search of their fourth-ever AMCC Championship win, which would lead to an NCAA postseason appearance next week. To achieve the feat, Penn State Altoona will need to defeat Pitt-Greensburg twice, as the Bobcats have not yet suffered a loss in the double-elimination tournament.