#1 BEHREND, #6 MOUNT ALOYSIUS REMAIN UNBEATEN AFTER DAY TWO OF AMCC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
After day two of the AMCC Softball Championship tournament, #1 Penn State Behrend and #6 Mount Aloysius College remain the two unbeaten teams in the winner's bracket. #2 Penn State Altoona and #4 Pitt-Bradford, each with one loss, will square off in tomorrow afternoon's elimination game, while #3 Alfred State College and #5 Pitt-Greensburg were both eliminated from the tournament today.
#4 Pitt-Bradford d. #3 Alfred State, 9-5
Pitt-Bradford jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, defeating Alfred State 9-5 on Thursday afternoon in game three of the AMCC Softball Championship Tournament.
Pitt-Bradford wasted no time at the plate, scoring four runs in the opening inning behind RBI hits from Krislyn Clement, Lilly Hamels, and Kalie Dixon. The Panthers added two more in the fourth when Miranda Groll delivered a two-run inside-the-park home run to make it 6-0.
Alfred State battled back with a four-run fourth inning and added another run in the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-5. Liana Dion, Jordyn Colvin, and Kate Gemza each drove in runs during the comeback effort, while Colvin added another RBI single in the fifth.
Groll helped Pitt-Bradford regain control in the sixth with her second homer of the game, a solo blast to left center. The Panthers added two insurance runs in the seventh, including an RBI single from Lexi Najdusak.
Groll finished 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBIs, and three runs scored to pace Pitt-Bradford’s 13-hit attack. Dixon added three hits, while Najdusak chipped in two hits and an RBI. Hannah Schnetzer earned the win in the circle, and Kaylee Schwartz picked up the save with three innings of relief.
Nicole Youngberg led Alfred State with two hits, while Colvin drove in two runs in the loss.
#1 Penn State Behrend d. #5 Pitt-Greensburg, 3-2
Top-seeded Penn State Behrend rallied late to edge Pitt-Greensburg 3-2 on Thursday afternoon in AMCC Tournament action. Pitt-Greensburg carried a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning before Behrend scored once in the sixth and pushed across two runs in the bottom of the seventh for the walk-off victory.
Pitt-Greensburg struck first in the second when Autumn Powell doubled home Sadie Kelly, then added another run in the fifth on Hunter Taylor’s RBI single. Shelby Cloak led the Bobcats offensively, going 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Powell added a hit and an RBI in the tough-luck loss.
Behrend’s comeback began with a solo home run by Hannah Smith in the sixth inning. In the seventh, the Lions tied the game on a sacrifice fielder’s choice from Smith before Meghan Swain delivered the game-winning RBI single to center field. Smith finished with two RBIs, while Julia Jones and Chloe Nale each recorded doubles.
Abby Tingley earned the complete-game win for Behrend, striking out seven over seven innings while throwing 131 pitches. Powell went the distance for Pitt-Greensburg, allowing three runs and striking out four in 6.1 innings.
#6 Mount Aloysius d. #2 Penn State Altoona
No. 6 seed Mount Aloysius pulled off another upset Thursday afternoon, shutting out No. 2 Penn State Altoona, 4-0, in game five of the championship tournament.
After five scoreless innings, Mount Aloysius broke through in the sixth when Ava Doyle launched a solo home run to left-center to give the Mounties a 1-0 lead. The offense added insurance in the seventh as Aislinn Myers delivered an RBI single before Hanna Stedman ripped a two-run double to stretch the advantage to 4-0.
Jessica Koptcho was dominant in the circle for Mount Aloysius, tossing a complete-game shutout while allowing just five hits and striking out five. Offensively, Stedman finished with two RBIs, while Doyle, Myers, Isabela Marquez, and Maggie Cypher each collected multiple key hits in the victory.
Penn State Altoona was led by Olivia Werkheiser, who went 3-for-3 at the plate, but the Lions were unable to capitalize offensively despite putting seven runners on base.
#4 Pitt-Bradford d. #5 Pitt-Greensburg, 11-3 (5 innings)
No. 4 Pitt-Bradford used a balanced offensive attack and a big fifth inning to defeat No. 5 Pitt-Greensburg, 11-3, in five innings on Thursday evening.
Pitt-Greensburg struck first in the opening inning when Hunter Taylor delivered an RBI single to score Shelby Cloak, but Pitt-Bradford answered immediately. After aggressive baserunning helped tie the game, Kalie Dixon launched a two-run homer to right-center to give the Panthers a 3-1 advantage.
The Bobcats trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the second on an RBI single from Cloak, but Pitt-Bradford pulled away with three runs in the third inning. Dixon added another RBI on a groundout before Keelie Schneider delivered a two-run single to extend the lead to 6-2.
Pitt-Greensburg got one back in the fifth on Mia Dalessandro’s RBI single, but Pitt-Bradford erupted for five runs in the bottom half to end the game early. Sandra Watne, Schneider, Lexi Najdusak and Sasha Ginsberg all drove in runs during the decisive inning.
Pitt-Bradford finished with 14 hits, led by Ginsberg’s 4-for-4 performance with two RBIs and three stolen bases. Dixon went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs, while Schneider also drove in three runs. Watne added two doubles and scored twice.
Taylor and Cloak each collected three hits for Pitt-Greensburg in the loss. Tae-Lynn Brabant earned the complete-game victory in the circle for Pitt-Bradford, allowing three runs on 10 hits over five innings.
Next Up:
Friday, May 8
Game 7 (12:00pm): #1 Penn State Behrend vs #6 Mount Aloysius
Game 8 (2:00pm): #2 Penn State Altoona vs #4 Pitt-Bradford
Game 9 (4:00pm): Loser G7 vs Winner G8
Saturday, May 9
Game 10 (12:00pm): Championship Game - Winner G7 vs Winner G9
Game 11, if necessary (2:00pm): If loser of G10 earns first loss