Softball Sweeps Hilbert in Conference Opener
CLAYSBURG, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona softball team started its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule with a pair of dominant wins on Sunday, when the Lions took care of league opponent Hilbert College in both games of a doubleheader at Claysburg-Kimmel High School.
Penn State Altoona (12-10, 2-0 AMCC) won both games in five innings via the eight-run rule, topping Hilbert (4-8, 0-2 AMCC) 9-0 in game one and 10-1 in game two.
Game One: Penn State Altoona 9, Hilbert 0 (Final/5 innings)
The Lions put together one of their most commanding victories of the year in game one to nab their first conference win of the season. Penn State Altoona produced nine runs on 10 hits in five innings while blanking Hilbert and allowing just two baserunners.
Lauren Davidson (Clearfield, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) finished 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored, one RBI, and one stolen base. Madison Kennedy (Williamsburg, PA/Central) was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, one RBI, and one walk.
Alexa Baney (Snow Shoe, PA/Bald Eagle), Riley Best (Coalport, PA/Glendale), and Olivia Werkheiser (Easton, PA/Wilson Area) finished with two RBI apiece.
Josselyn Nau (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) spun a complete-game shutout to record her fifth win of the season in the circle. Across five innings, the right-hander allowed just two hits while striking out a pair of Hilbert batters.
After a scoreless first, Penn State Altoona jumped on Hilbert in the bottom of the second inning. Werkheiser's two-run double to center put the Lions on the board, and Baney's two-run single to center made it 4-0. Two batters later, Best drove in a pair with her triple to right, and Kennedy's RBI single to center increased Penn State Altoona's lead to 7-0.
The Lions capitalized on a Hilbert error in the third to make it 8-0. Davidson led off the inning with a base hit, moved up to second on a passed ball, and stole third before scoring on an infield error.
Penn State Altoona tacked one more run onto its total in the bottom of the fourth, when Davidson's two-out RBI single to right made it 9-0. Hilbert went down quietly in the top of the fifth, and the Lions prevailed in a run-rule-shortened game one.
Game Two: Penn State Altoona 10, Hilbert 1 (Final/5 innings)
The Lions got out to another early lead in game two when they put four runs on the board in the first inning. Hilbert scored a run in the third, but Penn State Altoona controlled things the rest of the way to defeat the Hawks by nine.
Karli Storm (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights) hit her third home run of the season and finished with two runs scored, two walks, one RBI, and one stolen base. Allison Beeman (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) had a double and two RBI, and Davidson also recorded a pair of RBI.
Best picked up her fourth win of the season in the pitching circle, tossing four innings and giving up just one run on two hits and a walk while tallying four strikeouts. Kennedy finished things off, pitching a scoreless fifth inning in relief.
Penn State Altoona got four runs across in the bottom of the first to stake out another early lead. Baney was hit by a pitch to start the frame, and she later came home on Best's infield single to shortstop for the Lions' first run. Kennedy's RBI hit to short and Davidson's two-run single to center extended the home team's advantage to 4-0.
Hilbert scored its first and only run of the day in the top of the third on a Kaitlin Stolowski RBI double to center.
But Penn State Altoona got that run back with one swing of the bat in the bottom half of the third, when Storm led off the inning with a homer to center.
The Lions made it 8-1 in the fourth, beginning with an RBI single to center by Baney and a run-scoring double to center from Gracie Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona). After her double, Wilt swiped third and then scored on an error to give Penn State Altoona a seven-run cushion.
The Lions triggered the eight-run rule in the home half of the fifth, when Beeman's two-run double to left made it 10-1 and ended the contest early in favor of Penn State Altoona.
Softball returns to action with another AMCC doubleheader this Tuesday, March 31, when the Lions will host Pitt-Greensburg for a pair of games on campus at Stewart Athletic Field. Game one is set to start at 3 p.m.
