MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Penn State Altoona softball team opened its 2026 season on the road Wednesday afternoon, when the Lions faced off against non-conference opponent Waynesburg University in a doubleheader at Mylan Park.

Penn State Altoona (1-1) won its first game of the season with a 6-3 victory in game one, but Waynesburg (1-1) got even with the Lions by posting an 11-3 triumph in game two.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 6, Waynesburg 3

The Lions worked their way out to a 2-0 lead through four-and-a-half innings, before Waynesburg tied the score in the bottom of the fifth. But Penn State Altoona used a three-run sixth to quickly reclaim the lead and went on to win game one by the same margin.

Alexa Baney (Snow Shoe, PA/Bald Eagle) and Riley Best (Coalport, PA/Glendale) each had a two-hit game to lead the Lion bats. Baney was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs batted in, and a run scored, while Best went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and one RBI.

Madison Kennedy (Williamsburg, PA/Central), Karli Storm (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights), and Audrey Walker (Mill Hall, PA/Central Mountain) also had one hit apiece for Penn State Altoona.

In the pitching circle, Josselyn Nau (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) tossed a complete game to record the victory. The right-hander went seven innings and allowed one earned run while striking out seven batters.

Penn State Altoona capitalized on a pair of Waynesburg errors in the top of the first inning to draw first blood. Gracie Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona) led off the frame by reaching on an error, swiped second base, then scored on a throwing error in the next at-bat to make it 1-0.

The Lions doubled their lead in the fourth with back-to-back hits. With one out, Kennedy reached base on a single down the right-field line. Baney followed with a double to center that drove in Kennedy and increased Penn State Altoona's advantage to 2-0.

Waynesburg got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning, getting two runs across to knot the score at 2-2. Rylee Rohbeck's double to center brought in one run, and Braylee Corbin's RBI single to left got the Yellow Jackets even with the Lions.

But Penn State Altoona answered in the next half inning to retake the lead for good. Storm led off by drawing a walk, and Best's double to left in the next at-bat put the Lions back in front, 3-2. Later in the frame, a two-out error by Waynesburg kept the door open for Penn State Altoona to add to its lead. With two on and two away, an infield error allowed Best to score from third, and Walker followed with an RBI single to left that made it 5-2.

The Yellow Jackets got a run back in the bottom of the sixth, as Madie Cicero drove in a run to trim Penn State Altoona's lead to 5-3.

But the Lions reestablished a three-run advantage in the top of the seventh, when Baney's RBI groundout to shortstop brought Best home from third to make it 6-3.

Waynesburg brought the potential tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Nau and the Lions escaped the threat by getting a fielder's choice and a fly out to end the game.

Game Two: Waynesburg 11, Penn State Altoona 3 (Final/6 innings)

The Lions got off to a strong start in game two, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first to stake out an early lead. But Waynesburg put six on the board in the second inning and went on to defeat Penn State Altoona by eight in six innings, via the eight-run rule.

Storm had a 2-for-2 performance at the plate with a solo home run and a walk. Best and Kennedy finished with one hit and one RBI apiece, and Lauren Davidson (Clearfield, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) and Walker also had one hit each.

Kennedy got the nod at pitcher for game two, tossing three innings and taking the loss. Kendal Wadsworth (Johnstown, PA/Richland) pitched two innings in relief.

The Lions jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Wilt started things off with a walk, before Davidson's base hit to right center and Storm's walk loaded the bases with no outs. Best delivered a sacrifice fly to center to make it 1-0, and after a Baney walk, Kennedy's infield hit scored Davidson to give Penn State Altoona a two-run advantage.

But Waynesburg powered ahead during the bottom of the second inning on three straight run-scoring hits. Rohbeck's two-run single tied the game, and a two-run double from Corbin gave the Yellow Jackets a 4-2 lead. After that, Jamie Kelly's two-run homer to left center put the home team up by four.

Waynesburg made it 8-2 in the third, as Walt hit an RBI single and later scored on a passed ball to give the Yellow Jackets a six-run cushion.

Penn State Altoona put a run on the board in the visitor half of the fifth, when Storm's one-out solo home run to center made it 8-3.

But Waynesburg answered with two runs in the fifth, then tacked one more run on to its total in the sixth to beat the Lions in a run-rule shortened contest.

Now, the Penn State Altoona softball team will prepare for its annual spring break trip to compete in the North Myrtle Beach, S.C.-area Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic on Mar. 7-13. The Lions' 12-game slate that week kicks off with games against Columbia College and the University of Pikeville on Saturday, March 7, starting at 10 a.m.