PENN ST. ALTOONA ELIMINATED FROM NCAA SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT; CHAMBERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNEY TEAM

Penn State Altoona was ousted from the NCAA Division III Regional Softball Tournament on Saturday afternoon when SUNY Oneonta hung on for a 3-2 victory at Ithaca College’s Kostrinsky Field.

Junior first baseman Kelly Chambers was selected to the regional's All-Tournament Team.  In the Lions' two games against Ithaca College and SUNY Oneonta, Chambers hit 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, and two RBI.  In her final collegiate game, Brittany Smith was 2-for-3 with a run scored.  Kate Burge started in the circle for the Lady Lions and went 3 1/3 innings, yielding three runs. Raychel DeArmitt tossed 2-2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Oneonta, the third seed in the regional bracket, grabbed an early 3-0 lead and nursed it throughout the rest of the game. Penn State Altoona’s bats began to wake up midway through the game, and the team finally cashed in during the top of the sixth inning. One batter after Smith led off the frame with a base hit, Chambers sent a pitch over the right-center field fence to put the Lady Lions on the board, 3-2.

Penn State Altoona threatened to complete its comeback attempt in the seventh inning, getting two runners on base with one out. But Oneonta turned a game-ending double play to escape with the victory.

Penn State Altoona ends its season with a 29-11 overall record. The team won its second consecutive Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship earlier this month to earn the automatic qualification for the NCAA postseason.