By: Frank Maira, Assistant Director of Athletics/Sports Information Director
Monaca, Pa. – The Penn State Mont Alto softball team traveled to crosstown rivals Penn State Beaver on Wednesday for a PSUAC doubleheader. Beaver picked up a narrow 3-2 victory in the first game and carried the momentum into the nightcap earning a 12-7 win to remain unbeaten in conference play.
The first game was a battle of effective pitching and quality defense. Penn State Beaver (8-9, 8-0 PSUAC) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as three different players recorded RBI's within the inning. From that inning on, Alyssa Munns silenced the Beaver bats holding the home team scoreless.
Down 3-0, Mont Alto pushed across a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning. Kaitlyn Whiteaker sparked a two-out rally with a single and scored a batter later on a Helayna Stanko double. Geraldine Perez picked up her first RBI of the season driving in Stanko from second making it 3-2. The Lions threatened to tie or take the lead in the top of the fifth inning when Krista Feaser and Alexandra Zombro led off with back-to-back singles, but the runners were stranded ending the threat and giving PSU Beaver the 3-2 victory.
In game two, both offenses came alive as the teams combined for 24 hits. PSU Beaver once again opened the scoring pushing across three runs in the bottom of the first. Penn State Mont Alto (2-6, 2-6 PSUAC) tied it up as part of a three run top half of the third inning. The bases quickly loaded up for the Lions and Alyssa Munns slapped an RBI single and Brianna Glatz reached on a fielders choice making it 3-2. The Lions tied it up two batters later when Kaitlyn Whitaker tagged a double in which scored Munns.
The tie was short lived as PSU Beaver exploded for seven runs on five hits, including three errors in the bottom of the third inning. Mont Alto clawed back scoring three runs in the top of the fourth to make it 10-6. Alexandra Zombro hit her first double of the season driving in a run, Munns slapped an RBI single and Brianna Glatz hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield. PSU Beaver was held scoreless in the bottom half of the frame and the Lions made it 10-7 in the fifth inning when a Krista Feaser single scored teammate Helayna Stanko. It was as close as Mont Alto would get with Penn State Beaver adding a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning giving them the 12-7 win.
Penn State Mont Alto returns to action Saturday, April 8 when it hosts Penn State New Kensington for a doubleheader. Game times are set for 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
